The IFJ and EFJ signed a letter to the US President calling for the charges against Assange to be dropped

Posted On: December 28, 2022

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is in prison in the UK awaiting extradition to the US to face espionage charges. If found guilty, you face a imprisonment of up to 175 years. Along with European Union legislators (EU), which Assange’s wifeStella, and organizations that defend press freedom and human rights, that is international federation Y Journalists’ Union (IFJ-EFJ) has signed an open letter to US President Joe Biden asking him to pardon Assange.

That letter The week in which Stella Assange will represent her husband, who is nominated for the 2022 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg (France), has been announced.

According to a federation of journalists’ records, the president of the United States is facing increasing pressure to drop the charges against Assange. On November 28, 2022, the first news outlet to publish WikiLeaks material twelve years ago –Guardian, The New York Times, World, Der Spiegel Y Country-, gathered to publicly oppose the persecution of Assange and urged the US Government to drop all charges against him. They published an open letter titled “Publishing is not a crime”where they describe the situation as a direct attack on press freedom.

On 8 October 2022, IFJ President, Dominique Pradalie, joining forces with the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the UK and Ireland, formed a human chain around the Palace of Westminster to oppose Assange’s extradition. The IFJ supports global mobilization and calls on all journalists’ unions, press freedom organizations and journalists to mobilize and express their solidarity.

On 17 June 2021, following the UK’s decision to extradite Assange, the IFJ together with its Australian affiliate, the Media Entertainment and Audiovisual Alliance (MEAA), asked the Government to press for all charges against Assange to be dropped. .

Concerns for Assange’s health

The IFJ is “deeply concerned about Assange’s health and the impact his continued detention will have on press freedom and the rights of all journalists around the world.” As such, it has launched a global campaign to request the US Government to drop all charges against it and request all media unions and press freedom organizations to urge their government to securing Assange’s release.

“Regardless of personal views, his extradition will have dire consequences, with all journalists and media workers at risk,” the IFJ said. “Case sets a dangerous precedent that members of the media, in any country, can now be attacked by governments, anywhere in the world, for being responsible for publishing information in the public interest,” he added.