The United States prosecution of Julian Assange is a threat to press freedom around the globe. In light of that fact, and in light of shocking reporting late last month about CIA plans to kidnap or even assassinate him, the charges must be dropped. We've joined a coalition of more than two dozen press freedom, civil liberties, and international human rights groups reiterating that position in a letter delivered today to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
ACLU, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Knight First Amendment Institute, Committee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders are among the signatories to this unified message.
Today's letter follows up on a demand sent by the same 25 groups in the first weeks of the Biden administration. Biden and members of his administration have spoken about the importance of a free press and the work of journalists, but in this regard — a prosecution we have previously identified as "the most dangerous press freedom issue" in the United States — he has chosen to follow his notoriously anti-press predecessor in office. U.S. prosecutors have continued to pursue the case and an appeal of the Assange extradition denial.
Read the letter in full below.
