Lawsuit seeks transparency on Assange prosecution

AP Photo/Pascal Bastien
His prosecution is over, but the implications for journalists are alarming.
After pleading guilty to charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, Assange is the first person to be convicted under the Espionage Act for speaking with a source, receiving classified documents, and publishing them. In other words, things that journalists at news outlets do every day.
This is why Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) led a coalition of virtually every major civil liberties and human rights organization in the country to denounce the unprecedented case as a clear and present danger to press freedom.
As we come to the end of Sunshine Week — the long-running annual initiative focusing on government transparency — we're taking a look at how the first few months of the Biden administration have shaped up on that front.
A coalition of two dozen press freedom, civil liberties, and human rights groups call for an immediate end to the prosecution of Julian Assange by Biden's Department of Justice.
Freedom of the Press Foundation's statement on the the rejection of the US's extradition request of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
Could this presidential administration bring charges against the New York Times for publishing information about Donald Trump's tax returns? Could its Department of Justice claim health privacy laws are being violated when news outlets report on the massive cluster of coronavirus infections currently spreading in the White House?
The extradition hearing in the trial of Wikileaks editor Julian Assange is now halfway complete, and the court has heard from two Freedom of the Press Foundation co-founders—executive director Trevor Timm and board member Daniel Ellsberg—as expert witnesses for the defense.
The extradition process for Julian Assange has officially gotten underway. When the charges were originally revealed last year, Freedom of the Press Foundation led the charge in denouncing them, and we were joined by the unanimous voices of the civil liberties and press freedom community.
Here’s what numerous civil liberties and digital rights groups had to say about the implications of the new unprecedented charges against Julian Assange under the Espionage Act.
The Trump administration’s new charges against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange are the most fundamental threat to press freedom in the 21st century
Manning was released after a grand jury investigation into WikiLeaks expired last week, but she was immediately subpoenaed to order before a new one — and she could be jailed again for her courage when she resists again.
The ongoing detention of Chelsea Manning is inhumane and punitive, and she should be released immediately.