We
call on the government of Ecuador to allow Julian Assange his right
of freedom of speech
by
Noam Chomsky, Chris Hedges, John PIlger, et al
If it
was ever clear that the case of Julian Assange was never just a legal
case, but a struggle for the protection of basic human rights, it is
now.
Citing
his critical tweets about the recent detention of Catalan president
Carles Puidgemont in Germany, and following pressure from the US,
Spanish and UK governments, the Ecuadorian government has installed
an electronic jammer to stop Assange communicating with the outside
world via the internet and phone. As if ensuring his total isolation,
the Ecuadorian government is also refusing to allow him to receive
visitors. Despite two UN rulings describing his detention as unlawful
and mandating his immediate release, Assange has been effectively
imprisoned since he was first placed in isolation in Wandsworth
prison in London in December 2010. He has never been charged with a
crime. The Swedish case against him collapsed and was withdrawn,
while the United States has stepped up efforts to prosecute him. His
only “crime” is that of a true journalist — telling the world
the truths that people have a right to know.
Under
its previous president, the Ecuadorian government bravely stood
against the bullying might of the United States and granted Assange
political asylum as a political refugee. International law and the
morality of human rights was on its side.
Today,
under extreme pressure from Washington and its collaborators, another
government in Ecuador justifies its gagging of Assange by stating
that “Assange’s behaviour, through his messages on social
media, put at risk good relations which this country has with the UK,
the rest of the EU and other nations.”
This
censorious attack on free speech is not happening in Turkey, Saudi
Arabia or China; it is right in the heart of London. If the
Ecuadorian government does not cease its unworthy action, it, too,
will become an agent of persecution rather than the valiant nation
that stood up for freedom and for free speech. If the EU and the UK
continue to participate in the scandalous silencing of a true
dissident in their midst, it will mean that free speech is indeed
dying in Europe.
This is
not just a matter of showing support and solidarity. We are appealing
to all who care about basic human rights to call on the government of
Ecuador to continue defending the rights of a courageous free speech
activist, journalist and whistleblower.
We ask
that his basic human rights be respected as an Ecuadorian citizen and
internationally protected person and that he not be silenced or
expelled.
If there
is no freedom of speech for Julian Assange, there is no freedom of
speech for any of us — regardless of the disparate opinions we
hold.
We call
on President Moreno to end the isolation of Julian Assange now.
List
of signatories (in alphabetic order):
Pamela
Anderson, actress and activist
Jacob
Appelbaum, freelance journalist
Renata
Avila, International Human Rights Lawyer
Sally
Burch, British/Ecuadorian journalist
Alicia
Castro, Argentina’s ambassador to the United Kingdom 2012-16
Naomi
Colvin, Courage Foundation
Noam
Chomsky, linguist and political theorist
Brian
Eno, musician
Joseph
Farrell, WikiLeaks Ambassador and board member of The Centre for
Investigative Journalism
Teresa
Forcades, Benedictine nun, Montserrat Monastery
Charles
Glass, American-British author, journalist, broadcaster
Chris
Hedges, journalist
Srećko
Horvat, philosopher, Democracy in Europe Movement (DiEM25)
Jean
Michel Jarre, musician
John
Kiriakou, former CIA counterterrorism officer and former senior
investigator, U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Lauri
Love, computer scientist and activist
Ray
McGovern, former CIA analyst, Presidential advisor
John
Pilger, journalist and film-maker
Angela
Richter, theater director, Germany
Saskia
Sassen, sociologist, Columbia University
Jeffrey
St. Clair, journalist
Oliver
Stone, film-maker
Vaughan
Smith, English journalist
Yanis
Varoufakis, economist, former Greek finance minister
Natalia
Viana, investigative journalist and co-director of Agencia publica,
Brazil
Ai
Weiwei, artist
Vivienne
Westwood, fashion designer and activist
Slavoj
Žižek, philosopher, Birkbeck Institute for Humanities
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