December 16, 2010. Julian Assange, WikiLeaks spokesperson, is out on bail from a London prison, after Sweden loses its bail appeal. Assange will still have to fight extradition to Sweden for the allegations of sexual offenses on January 11, 2011.
The Westminster Magistrate’s Court granted Assange bail December 14th on surety of £240,000. The following conditions must also be met: curfew from 10am to 2pm and 10pm to 2am at Ellingham Hall (the country estate of supporter Vaughan Smith in Suffolk County), he must report to police every day at 6pm, he must surrender his passport, and wear a security tag.
Thanking his supporters on the steps of London High Court, Assange said, “Well, it's great to smell the fresh air of London again.” He did not answer questions from the press.
Supporters Celebrate in London
Jemima Khan said, "It's great news. I can hear them all cheering outside."
The novelist Tariq Ali said, "I'm very pleased that he is out. I think the extradition charges should now be dealt with in the same way. His barrister made the same point – that this is not rape under English law and there is absolutely no reason for extradition. We are delighted he is out, and he should never have been locked up in the first place."
The author Yvonne Ridley said, "It is a victory for common sense. If he had been refused bail, it would have meant the court had become a political arena."
Gavin MacFadyen, of the Centre for Investigative Journalism, said, "I am very pleased, and it is about time. We do not know what the prosecution will do now. And there is still a possibility of an appeal."
In a recent CNN poll, almost half of Briton supports Assange, contesting that the charges against him are a fraud.
American Support for Assange
US filmmaker Michael Moore publicly offers the assistance of his website, servers, domain names, and $20,000 to keep WikiLeaks alive.
Congressman Ron Paul in a recent speech to the senate, said, “It has been charged, by self-proclaimed experts, that Julian Assange, the internet publisher of this information, has committed a heinous crime deserving prosecution for treason and execution or even assassination.”
“But should we not at least ask how the U.S. government can charge an Australian citizen with treason for publishing U.S. secret information, that he did not steal?
And if Wikileaks is to be prosecuted for publishing classified documents, why shouldn’t the Washington Post, New York Times, and others that have also published these documents be prosecuted? Actually, some in Congress are threatening this as well.”
Daniel Ellsberg, whistleblower for the Pentagon Papers, said, “EVERY attack now made on WikiLeaks and Julian Assange was made against me and the release of the Pentagon Papers at the time.”
Assange topped the readers' poll in American news magazine Time's person of the year contest, with over 375,000 nominations.
Australian Support for Assange
Australian supporters of Wikileaks and Assange have raised $360,000 for a full-page ad in the New York Times.
On December 10th, hundreds of people rallied outside Sydney Town Hall and in Brisbane to show their support for Assange.
Russian Support for Assange
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in support of Assange said, that "If there is democracy, it must be a full one. Why did they jail Mr. Assange? Is that democracy?" Putin said at a news conference Thursday. "You know what our villagers say: while someone's cow is mooing, yours better be silent (equivalent to the pot calling the kettle black)."
Dmitry Medvedev, president of the Russian Federation, said that "Public and non-governmental organizations should think of how to help him."
Dmitry Rogozin, Russian ambassador, stated that Julian Assange's earlier arrest on Swedish charges demonstrated that there was "no media freedom" in the west.
Other Worldly Support for Assange
John Pilger, award-winning investigative journalist and filmmaker, said “Julian Assange is an innocent man until proven otherwise. I don't believe he would receive a fair trial in Sweden, and there is the risk he would be “rendered” to the United States where the attorney-general is busy trying to invent a law with which to prosecute him for WikiLeaks' truth-telling.”
Bianca Jagger, formally married to Mick Jagger, human right advocate who serves as a Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador, said "Exposing war crimes is no crime."
Brazilian President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, criticizes the arrest of Assange as “an attack on freedom of expression.”
Frank LaRue, United Nations’ Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression, said "if there is a responsibility by leaking information it is of, exclusively of the person that made the leak and not of the media that publish it. And this is the way that transparency works and that corruption has been confronted in many cases.”
On December 11th, there was a demonstration at the British Embassy in Madrid by over 100 protesters supporting Assange.
Internet Support for Assange
Internet support for Assange continues to grow as new domains and websites emerge. Domains such as www.support-julian-assange.com and www.americansforassange.com are proclaiming the true voice of the people.
Anonymous, an online community with over 9,000 members jumped to over 40,000 members during Operation Payback.
Youtube and Facebook also prove to be outlets for freedom to express support for Assange. Thousands of messages are being expressed daily from people everywhere.
Teena Clipston - Teena Clipston is publisher and editor-in-chief of TheGreenGazette. www.thegreengazette.ca
Join the Conversation