Tomorrow (Friday 18 June) from 7:30AM until 9:00 AM outside the Melbourne British Consulate, Supporters of Julian Assange will be protesting against his illegal continued imprisonment by the British government. Apparently, Julian Assange, who has not been found guilty of any crime after more than two years imprisonment in solitary confinement 23 hours per day in Belmarsh Prison, is being kept there awaiting the lodgement of the United States' appeal against Judge Vanessa Baraitser's ruling of 6 January 2021 to disallow the extradition of Julian Assange - an outrageous abuse of procedure. Then from 6:30pm outside Flinders Street Station, other Melbourne supporters of Julian Assange will be holding their weekly vigil.

The inordinate length of time that the US prosecution is taking to lodge its appeal seems to be an indication that they are struggling to come up with any arguments that would hold any weight in the British Appeals court. That the British Judicial system has apparently not set a deadline for the US prosecutors can only be wilful negligence on its part. It is long past time that the Australian Government should have acted to bring this outrage to an end.

Please find the time to come to one or both protests which are being held in Melbourne tomorrow.

On 3 June, Peter Khalil, Labor member for the Melbourne metropoliton seat of Wills, presented to Federal Parliament a petition from one of his constituents on behalf of Australian journalist Julian Assange. The video of Peter Khalil's speech is embedded below.

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate will be sitting this coming fortnight, firstly, on Tuesday 15 June and then the following two days and, secondly, on Monday 21 June and the following three days. Members of the "Bring Julian Assange Home" Parliamentary Group could use these sittings to properly hold to account the Government of Scott Morrison over Julian Assange through a proper debate. They could consider putting to both houses a motion which calls on the Government to act to end the illegal imprisonment of Julian Assange. A motion I have already suggested to members of the group is included below.

Once such a motion is put, then each and every member of the both houses will face the choice: Vote to instruct Scott Morrison to use his authority as Prime Minister of Australia to act to free Julian Assange from Belmarsh Prison or be shown up before the voting public as being in support of the illegal imprisonment and torture of Julian Assange.

Can Palestine be liberated while the US illegally occupies Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq? Apparently Melbourne's pro-Palestine movement thinks Palestine can be liberated while Syria has much of its territory illegally occupied and US troops also illegally occupy Iraq and Afghanistan.

I attended both the Freedom Protest and the huge pro-Palestine Protest in Melbourne yesterday on 15 May 2021. At both protests I intended to show my support for each of those two respective causes and to distribute our leaflet on Julian Assange. [1]

Unfortunately, I did not stay long at the Freedom Protest, because I thought that it would be more promising and and more productive to go to the pro-Palestine protest. My reason was that I supposed the Palestine protest would attract a wide range of related left-wing causes, such as people who support the Syrian and Venezuelan people. I also expected that people there would be very receptive to the leaflet in support of Julian Assange I had to distribute.

Apologies for this very short notice.

At 1:30pm today, 1 May 2021, the International Workers' Day, the day on which Trade Unionists commemorate the struggle and sacrifices by trade unionists to achieve dignity and decent living standards for themselves and their families, supporters of Australian journalist and founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange will be marching as a contingent, behind Melbourne for Wikileaks' (@Melbourne4Wiki)'s large banner, pictured further below.

Julian Assange has committed no crime and has already served his outrageous 50 week sentence for the supposed misdemeanour of skipping bail back in 2012 when he sought political asylum at the London Ecuadorian embassy. Yet, two years after his imprisonment, he still remains behind bars in solitary confinement for 23 hours per day, as United States prosecutors pursue their appeal of Magistrate Vanessa Barraitser's ruling against the extradition of Julian Assange.

On Saturday 24 April, at the iconic A1 Restaurant on Sydney Road in Melbourne's northern suburb of Brunswick, supporters of Julian Assange had lunch to see off Julian Assange's father John Shipton, just before he embarked on his second "Home Run for Julian" tour. Whilst other supporters of Julian Assange were still at lunch inside the A1 Restaurant to the left, John Shipton was interviewed by Sheila Newman. He explained to her, during the interview, embedded below, that, this time, he was going to visit Northern New South Wales and Southern Queensland. Then on 17 May they would depart Australia for the United States. They would firstly tour the Eastern states, including New York and Washington, D. C. Thence he would tour California. Then he planned to visit Ireland, Scotland and Britain. He will be speaking to political figures and media figures in those countries.

John Shipton Assange Team will visit USA

From Consortium News (20 Apr 2021)

Lawyer and partner of Julian Assange, Stella Moris, briefs the International Symposium of Parliamentarians on the latest developments in his case and the impact Julian's continued incarceration is having on their family.

There will be an international public symposium of parliamentarians and legislators who will discuss and examine the issues at stake in the Julian Assange case. The event will also be live-streamed by the Don’t Extradite Assange campaign on their YouTube, Twitter and Facebook channels.

Letter from Billy Field to Australian politicians

13 April, 2021

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to inform you that over the past month, I have sent 3 letters to every MP and senator in the Australian Parliament regarding the importance of the Government urgently acting to protect Julian Assange who is currently in solitary confinement in Belmarsh Prison, UK.

He has been in solitary for 2 years, since 11 April, 2019 for exposing war crimes. Also, due to “misinformation” spread during smear campaigns, Assange has had his freedom curtailed and his rights infringed for nearly 11 years now.

Despite the fact that credible experts have reported that Julian has been subject to torture, I find it alarming that to date I have received only 2 letters in response to my 3 letters to all 226 highly paid parliamentarians/public officials. Otherwise, there has been silence & inaction.

Further enquiries today with MP Mark Dreyfus’ (shadow AG) office resulted in confirmation that the Labor party released the attached press release in support of Assange on Jan 5 but, to date, nothing substantive has been done to help Julian.

I also attach a copy of my last letter to all politicians dated April 8 2021 and another attachment, “Debunking Myths and Smears” about Julian Assange FYI.

Billy Field
Gosford
NSW 2250

8 April 2021

Dear Member of Parliament,

Please find attached a list of the cross-party MPs and senators calling for the Govt to take
immediate action to “free Julian Assange” who is currently in solitary confinement in Belmarsh
prison in the UK.

I, and I am sure countless folk all over the world, are highly appreciative of these members and
senators. They are routinely thanked by groups of citizens meeting and demonstrating for Julian
Assange’s release every Friday afternoon outside Sydney Town Hall (photo attached).

Despite the fact that credible experts have deemed Assange to have been subject to torture, he
still remains in solitary confinement (& for 2yrs as of April 11th) under heavily restricted
conditions and as an Australian I, and I believe his supporters, find this untenable.

I have twice written to all MPs and senators noting details regarding this matter (which I hope
you are aware of by now) and the matter’s urgency. I note I have received only one letter in
response by a “Ministerial Correspondence Unit” (unsigned) and this letter I feel is entirely
unsatisfactory.

You must know that to sit and do nothing and not act for a person being tortured or harmed, as
I understand it, is not only a crime but also highly immoral.

"April11, 2021, marks 2 years Julian Assange has been held without charge in Her Majesty’s Prison Belmarsh, London - a prison housing society's most violent individuals. Julian Assange published factual information about government and military wrongdoings, provoking a massive campaign to destroy his credibility and discourage other whistleblowers, journalists and publishers."The pdf file contains a document which is an edited version of original works of author Caitlin Johnstone, who has generously permitted the use and editing of her work for this brochure. https://caitlinjohnstone.com/ Published by Assange Town Hall Gatherings Inc, c/- tonywakeham1@hotmail.com For comments contact Tony Wakeham 0427252726. (This document was sent to Australian politicians by Billy Field.)

#c7eced;">#e73a42;">A 336K double-sided A5 leaflet (adapted from previous leaflet) can be found, attached to this page here.

This is a beautiful original song, beautifully performed, with well conceived lyrics describing the importance of Assange, his suffering, and encouraging people to work to have him released.

LYRICS:

like a movie
flickering in blue and grey
like a movie
you can’t take your eyes away

1.
here's a man in the nose of a beast
a magic camera on his eye
they're not men he sees before him
just pixels floating by

his eyes narrow on the target
his finger is the boss
seven men go to the dust they came from
underneath his cross

like a movie

2.
and here's a man on an aeroplane
his eyes are warm, his eyes are closed
weary from too much seeing,
from 10 years on this road

they took his son, they took his freedom
took away his space to think
they took his walls and moved them closer
they pushed him to the brink

like a movie
flickering in blue and grey
like a movie
betrayal's only one frame away

From 6:30PM on Good Friday, last Friday 2 April 2021, Anita Brice, myself and other Melbourne supporters of Julian Assange held their weekly vigil in front of Flinders Street Station. This vigil is the central part of Anita Brice's (see Lorine Anita Brice's Twitter page @LorineBrice) campaign for Julian Assange which she has organised since April 2020.

Each Friday since then they have turned up with placards and printed literature to inform members of the public about Julian Assange.

Last Thursday 25 March, during the Senate Estimates Hearing, Greens Senator for Victoria, Janet Rice (pictured left), asked Foreign Minister Marise Payne (pictured right) to explain her failure to act to free Australian journalist Julian Assange from his imprisonment in Belmarsh Prison in London. Given the very short time allowed for Janet Rice to pursue this issue, she did remarkably well in cutting through Marise Payne's evasions and attempts to obfuscate the issue.

The 2:17 minute video from Twitter, is embedded below and the text of the exchange between Senators Janet Rice and Marise Payne is included below the video.

Stella Moris, Julian Assange's wife and mother of his two children, explains how the United States' 1917 Espionage Act threatens all journalism that is in any way critical of the U.S. government.

CORRECTION (10:20am, Friday): The march will be to the British Consulate at 90 Collins Street Melbourne and not to the State Library. - apologies

Join us at 3:30pm Friday 26 March (today) at Flinders Street Station, from which Melbourne For Wikileaks (@Melbourne4wiki) will be marching at 4:00pm from Flinders Street Station to the British Consulate at 90 Collins Street, Melbourne. This March is to show our support of Julian Assange.

In this video, BBC journalist Orla Guerin interviews Azerbaijan President Aliyev, assuming that Azerbaijan press and politics are heavily censored, and presses him on that. He denies the accusation, then asks her why Julian Assange has been held inhumanely for years, if the British and western press are so free. The BBC journalist simply won't acknowledge the situation for journalists and the media in her own country, kind of proving the president's point. Transcript below, with the pithiest bits emboldened.

Transcript of this excerpt

BBC JOURNALIST: [...] to Armenian civilians.

[See videoed 10 min speech inside.] "The new administration in the USA needs to hear from us. I recently stood in the Australian Senate and made a plea to US President Joe Biden and newly appointed US Attorney General Merrick Garland to drop all charges against Julian Assange so we can bring him home to Australia. It was a lie and terrible deception that led us to war in Iraq - a manufactured deception about weapons of mass destruction by some of the most powerful people on this planet. It is terrifying that foreign nations like the US could extradite and charge journalists who have exposed their wrongdoings. If we don’t defend press freedoms and learn from the mistakes and lessons of history we are bound to repeat them. Without a value on truth, there is only one path left to tread, and it gets more dark and dangerous from here – we must continue the fight to free Julian Assange.

Joe Biden and Merrick Garland: please walk away from any decision to extradite Julian Assange now. It's in the interest of democracy and humanity for you to do so.

The illegal, unilateral invasion of Iraq was less than 20 years ago, but seems to be largely forgotten already.

This article can be printed on two sides of an A4 sheet from this file (but, please be warned, it costs a lot more to print it as colour rather than as black and white).

Dear Prime Minister Scott Morrison, I am writing to you concerning the imprisonment, psychological and physical torture, in Britain, of an Australian citizen, Julian Assange, who has committed no crime. So far Julian Assange has endured more than eight and a half years of this, and if the United States' government has its way, this will continue for the rest of his life. On 11 April 2019, shortly after Julian Assange was taken from the London Ecuadorian Embassy and placed under arrest, Foreign Minister Marise Payne issued a statement:

In this video, on Friday 26 February 2021, John Shipton, Julian Assange's father, launches the Julian Assange road-show, with an interesting and moving speech on human rights, history, and current trends. The bus you can see behind Mr Shipton, will travel from Melbourne to Canberra, via Broadford, Castlemaine, Bendigo, Albury, Wogga - and other country towns, reaching Canberra within a few weeks, in time for opening of the second session of Parliament. There the road-show members will work with the Australian Parliamentary Friends of Julian Assange, to try to convince the Scott Morrison Australian government to bring Julian home.

On Friday 26 February, Julian Assange's father John Shipton (pictured), is to embark on his #HomeRun4Julian tour. He will be touring regional Victorian and New South Wales towns on his way to Sydney and Canberra to demand justice for his son, Julian Assange.

The rally will be addressed by John Shipton, amongst others. From there, John Shipton will be embarking on his #HomeRun4Julian tour of regional Victorian and New South Wales towns on his way to Sydney and Canberra to demand justice for his son, Julian Assange.

Melbourne for Wikileaks (@melbourne4wiki) holds vigils for Julian Assange, every Friday, from 6:30pm until 8:30pm, under the clocks at Melbourne's iconic Flinders Street Station. Yesterday, Friday 19 February, I unfurled a canvas banner, 5 meters wide and 1.7 meters deep, with a big picture of Assange on it. No sooner had we raised this banner than we heard loud cries of support for Julian Assange. Support also came from cars, whose drivers tooted their horns, as they drove past the station. (See video below.)

#049a8e">The article below is an adaptation of a double-sided A5 leaflet I wrote to be distributed at the Friday Night Vigil for Julian Assange held in front of Flinders Street Railway Station from 5:30pm until 7:30pm. The 210K PDF file is attached to the article Barraitser's 'compassion' towards Julian Assange a ploy to avoid judicial scrutiny of the United States' illegal war on journalism? (12/1/21). I have since handed out this same leaflet, so far, at three subsequent Friday night vigils.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne's double standards

#00C8FF;">Update (Thursday 1/4/2021): Melbourne supporters of Julian Assange will be holding our weekly vigil tomorrow evening at Flinders Street Station from 6:30pm Good Friday, this Friday 2 April. For more information see @LorineBrice