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The Assange Extradition Ruling Is A Relief, But It Isn't Justice
"Judge Vanessa Baraitser has ruled against US extradition for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, but not for the reasons she should have."
#Assange #AssangeCase https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/the-assange-extradition-ruling-is
"Judge Vanessa Baraitser has ruled against US extradition for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, but not for the reasons she should have."
#Assange #AssangeCase https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/the-assange-extradition-ruling-is
Baraitser's frightening ruling supported virtually every US prosecutorial argument that was made during the extradition trial, no matter how absurd and Orwellian.
https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/usa-v-julian-assange/
https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/usa-v-julian-assange/
In the end though, Baraitser ruled against extradition. Not because allowing the extradition of journalists under the Espionage Act poses a threat to press freedoms worldwide. Not to prevent a global chilling effect on natsec journalism about the world's most powerful government.
No, Baraitser ultimately ruled against extradition because Assange would be too high a suicide risk in America's draconian prison system. https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1346064175571857408?s=20
Assange is still not free, and he is not out of the woods. The US government has said it will appeal the decision, and Baraitser has the legal authority to keep Assange locked in Belmarsh Prison until after that appeals process. https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1346059115186032640?s=20
Discussions on bail and release will resume on Wednesday, and Assange will remain imprisoned in Belmarsh at least until that time. It's entirely possible that he will remain imprisoned throughout the entire appeal. https://twitter.com/richimedhurst/status/1346051580441853954
The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), the Australian trade union to which Assange belongs as a journalist, has released a statement on the ruling which outlines the situation nicely.
https://www.meaa.org/news/assange-extradition-decision-a-huge-relief-us-must-now-end-prosecution/
https://www.meaa.org/news/assange-extradition-decision-a-huge-relief-us-must-now-end-prosecution/
Indeed, the ruling today was a huge relief for Assange, his family, and for all his supporters around the world. But it wasn't justice. https://twitter.com/JoanaRamiroUK/status/1346056469867876354?s=20
It is good that Baraitser ultimately ruled against extradition, but her ruling also supported the entirety of the US government's prosecutorial narrative that would allow for extradition of journalists under the Espionage Act in the future.
The ruling is a significant step toward freedom for Julian Assange, but it changes nothing as far as global imperialist tyranny is concerned.
That said, the message of the empire here was essentially "We totally coulda extradited you if we wanted, but you're too crazy," which sounds a lot like the international diplomacy equivalent of "I could kick your ass but you're not worth it."
If this case hadn't had such intense scrutiny on it from all over the world, we would have heard a different ruling today. The empire did what it could to try and intimidate journalists with the possibility of prison for exposing its malfeasance, but in the end, it backed down.
I'm not going to take that as a sign that we've won the war, or even the battle. But it is a sign that our punches are landing. And that we've got a fighting chance here.
