Countdown To Day X: Denying Assange's Freedom Of Expression

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange asserts that extradition to the United States would be a “flagrant denial” of his rights to freedom of expression

Editor’s Note: Ahead of a major appeal hearing before the British High Court of Justice on February 20 and 21, the “Countdown To Day X” series will highlight key aspects of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s appeal against extradition to the United States.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his legal team assert that extradition to the United States would be a “flagrant denial” of his rights to freedom of expression because the charges criminalize Assange for engaging in journalism.

When Assange was first charged, Ben Wizner of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Jameel Jaffer of the Knight First Amendment Institute declared, “The [computer offense] characterizes everyday journalistic practices as part of a criminal conspiracy. Cultivating a source, protecting a source’s identity, communicating with a source securely—the indictment describes all of these activities as the ‘manners and means’ of the conspiracy.”

Specifically, the charge that Assange conspired to commit a computer offense criminalizes him for allegedly creating a “special folder on a cloud drop box of WikiLeaks” for U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning to submit documents. It treats Assange’s alleged effort to help Manning protect her identity while she was using a military computer as a crime. It also singles out Assange for his use of Jabber, an encrypted chat service, to allegedly communicate with Manning. 

Read the full article at The Dissenter