Julian Assange of WikiLeaks is fighting an appeal this week to prevent his extradition to Sweden. In turn, Sweden would be able to extradite him to the United States, which wants to prosecute him for publishing secrets documents. Governments and companies are now on their guard. Whistleblowers and investigative journalists are under threat.
“You see that, on the one hand, the internet can be an engine behind freedom of expression and press freedom. On the other hand, it offers far-reaching possibilities for control by the authorities. This tension has never been so apparent as it is with WikiLeaks,” says Axel Arnbak of Dutch digital rights organisation Bits of Freedom.
Why extradition?
In August 2010, two Swedish women file sex-crime complaints against Julian Assange.
Mr Assange admits to having sex with the women, but denies it was non-consensual.
The women refuse to make an official statement; no official charges are filed.
In early December 2010, Interpol puts Mr Assange on its list of most-wanted criminals because he is sought for questioning in Sweden.
In February 2011, a London court rules that Mr Assange should be extradited to Sweden. The UK High Court will hear his appeal on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Free speech and press freedom are universal rights but, in practice, have their limits even in democratic countries. In the eyes of the US, the people behind the WikiLeaks website went too far. They published confidential documents and data, which the US sees as a threat to national security. They revealed embarrassingly frank emails by diplomats and all too intimate links between civil servants and companies.
The US wants to collar Mr Assange for his role in publishing state secrets and other sensitive material. At the same time, two Swedish women have filed sex-crime charges against him. Assange turned himself in to the British police in December 2010.
Whistleblower
Mr Assange will be fighting his extradition in the London appeal court on Tuesday and Wednesday. He fears that if he is extradited to Stockholm, he will be turned over to the US.
The Dutch journalists’ union NVJ is keeping a wary eye on the case. “We think Assange is in something of a whistleblower role. He’s developed digital means of exposing wrongdoings,” says union secretary Thomas Bruning. “The aim of journalism is to reveal wrongdoings. People like Assange are extremely important to journalism. They deserve protection.”
The WikiLeaks case also has consequences for whistleblowers, says Mr Bruning. They have to be able to talk freely to journalists, which is why tapping journalists’ phone calls and emails should be forbidden. The NVJ is calling for stronger legal protection of journalists’ sources in the Netherlands.
“The Dutch secret service follows journalists and retrieves or taps data. This enables them to trace criminals who talk to journalists, as well as people who leak information. In a constitutional state, that’s counterproductive. Journalists have to be able to exercise control over the police and judiciary. They have to make sure they aren’t used as an extension of the police.”
Risk of prosecution in US
At the height of the WikiLeaks revelations, there were moves to set up similar websites in many countries. But little has actually come of it, says Bits of Freedom.
“If you publish something in Europe that has consequences in the US, you can be prosecuted there because you helped someone to leak the information. So you’ve got to be very cautious as a website-maker. The need for clarity on this shows the importance of the Assange case,” says Mr Arnbak.
As with a previous hearing in the case, many journalists and champions of press freedom are expected to appear at the High Court on Tuesday and Wednesday.
(tt/kh)
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This is all about the US having egg on it`s face, and we cannot have that, now can we...
I don't know which planet some of you are living on - this isn't a case of somebody doing something illegal and then being brought to justice, it's about the worlds most powerful nation losing 'classified' information (through its own lax security) and then trying to claim that the publication of the data is illegal by anyone in the world. The data is lost, gone, get over it. Stop having tantrums and fix your broken security.
Some of the information clearly shows illegal (by US national and international law) activity by the US administration. That is one the functions of a free press - to bring governments to account when they break the law. By using its immense clout to crush anyone who tries to do that, the US is behaving like China, Russia and many other very nasty regimes. It makes a mockery of their claims to be promoting democracy and freedom and other so called western values, let alone the claim to be the leader of the 'free world'. Until America puts its own house in order and stops breaking (international) laws to further its agenda, Assange should NOT be extradited.
"Stop having tantrums and fix your broken security."...I believe the goverement is trying to and will stop the security leaks on his issue. They will prosecute the soldier who broke security procedures and the recipient (Assange) of the classified information. You might be right in your assessment but being right will not keep them from being prosecuted. The soldier did not have a responsibility to release classified information and Assange knew the consquences of receiving classified documents. Assange will be extradicted. Why? Because the British and the U.S. are one and the same. As to Assange, it really doesn't make a difference but the soldier needs to be held accountable for his act of betraying the government. He knew better!
We're not discussing 'the soldier' here - the article is about the extradition of Assange. The information has been leaked - it's in the public domain. The US is trying to intimidate publishers. Maybe to distract attention from its illegal activities. If it were truly a democratic nation, the personnel who perpetrated the crimes described in the leaked documents should be in the dock as well as 'the soldier'.
"Stop having tantrums and fix your broken security."...The response was directed at Anoymous, and if that person was you, then you shouldn't have brought-up the subject of "fix your broken security". The soldier was part of the security and Assange was part of the security problem, also. The soldier was the security problem and now he has been fixed.
Assange has nothing to do with American security - he runs an oraganisation that publishes leaked information - check out the wikileaks web site
Being born under the sign "Taurus" I am slightly stubborn, if you will. What any bully expects least and last is to be stood up to and when this happens, the bully - usually - will back down.
A felony and is now run and afraid to bring it to USA, should have measured the consequences first, it was believed a superman.
Now what happens? why not face justice with dignity and courage with the same courage that the soldiers are doing in the frontline in the fight against terrorism, not mouse and face. they afraid?
I'm sure the USA will be keen to extradite the CIA personnel (who kidnapped and abducted foreign nationals on foreign territory for which Italy has issued arrest warrants) to show impartiality.
And how many other US misdeeds are "protected" under "national security"? It is time the world stood up to this Yank bully!
Vera, are you going to lead the charge. My great grandpa and his two brothers tried it agianst the Yanks and the results were: My uncle was killed and my grandfather and his youngest brother spent approximately 16 months in a Yank prison called Point Lookout. Now, if you lead the charge, we'uns don't charge unless the southern yell is used. You are going to have to practice it a bit. We didn't beat them but we left a whole hell lot of them in southern soil for being aggressors. Now, those yanks buried in southern soil were fine men but the government didn't care about them either. They either followed orders or got shot. We pay homage to them just like we do for those southern "gentlemen". Forget it Vera, we ain't got a chance against the U.S. and it's master the British. Semper Fi, Vera!
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