Last-minute pardons have become a tradition for outgoing presidents. In theory, the power is supposed to be used to overturn wrongful convictions or excessively harsh sentences, but past administrations, both Democratic and Republican, have granted mercy to friends and political allies. Trump is expected to honor this somewhat seedy custom. …
Read More »‘It’s different’: Ex-Guardian editor who published Assange’s WikiLeaks cables hypothesises about being extradited to US himself
Rusbridger was at the helm of the British newspaper between 1995 and 2015, and it was during his watch that The Guardian published some of the most consequential stories about US dirty secrets based on leaked material. He collaborated with Julian Assange when the paper was writing about Afghanistan, the …
Read More »Judge’s denial of Assange bail ‘unfair & illogical,’ no reason to keep him behind bars – WikiLeaks editor-in-chief
Speaking to reporters outside the court building, Hrafnsson called District Judge Vanessa Baraitser’s ruling a “great disappointment.” It’s unjust, unfair, and illogical, when you consider her ruling two days ago about Julian’s health. On Monday, Baraitser refused to allow Assange’s extradition to the US, citing concerns that the American justice …
Read More »Assange denied bail by British court, forced to stay in high-security prison
Assange was seeking bail in the Westminster Magistrates’ Court presided over by District Judge Vanessa Baraitser, who on Monday ruled against his extradition. The activist had already served a 50-week sentence in the UK for jumping bail in 2012 when he hid in London’s Ecuadorian Embassy to avoid extradition to …
Read More »‘Bail him NOW!’ Roger Waters says after judge rejects extradition for Assange, calls ruling a ‘delaying tactic’ as US preps appeal
“Let the man begin to live,” Waters said in an interview with RT on Monday, insisting Assange must be freed from custody at London’s maximum security Belmarsh Prison without delay, hours after Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled against extradition for the anti-secrecy activist. We, [Assange’s] supporters, have to be saying ‘Bail. …
Read More »‘Let this be the end of it’: Assange supporters hail judge’s surprise refusal to extradite WikiLeaks founder
Assange, 49, is charged with 18 counts of conspiring to hack US government computers and the publication of confidential military records, including a video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad. A dozen people, including two Reuters journalists, were killed in that attack. In a surprise ruling on Monday, …
Read More »‘We’ll give him protection’: Mexican president promises asylum for Julian Assange
“Assange is a journalist and deserves a chance, I am in favor of pardoning him,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters on Monday, saying “we’ll give him protection.” “Our tradition is protection,” Obrador added. Earlier on Monday, Judge Vanessa Baraitser refused to extradite Assange to the US, where he …
Read More »Blocking Assange’s extradition to the US is the right decision… but it’s been made for the wrong reason
The battle is over, but the war is not. The decision by Judge Vanessa Baraitser not to extradite WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange was highly unexpected. After all, investigative reporting has revealed she has a track record of having approved 96 percent of extradition requests. Very few of Assange’s backers and supporters …
Read More »Assange WON’T be extradited to US on spying charges in shock decision at London’s Old Bailey
Assange, 49, is charged with 18 counts of conspiring to hack US government computers and the publication of confidential military records, including a video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad in which a dozen people, including two Reuters journalists, were killed. In her ruling Baraitser said that freedom …
Read More »Sarah Palin joins calls to pardon Assange, condemns previous comments on WikiLeaks founder: ‘I made a mistake’
As rumors swirl of a possible pardon for Assange from outgoing President Donald Trump, more and more advocates have thrown their support behind the WikiLeaks founder, and now Palin can count herself as a surprising member of those voices. “I am the first one to admit when I make a …
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