I have sent the following complaint to the Sydney Morning Herald and I hope others will do the same. Was unable to use the SMH's "feedback" page, so I sent an email to [email protected]. I complained that their editorial of May 12, 2023, based on their Assange poll and his Kafkaesque incarceration, while widely welcomed, nonetheless contained errors too often repeated which I requested the SMH correct publicly or by publishing my comments.
Complaint
Your editorial of May 12 based on your Assange poll and his Kafkaesque incarceration, while widely welcomed nonetheless contained errors too often repeated which I request you correct publicly or by publishing my comments. [1]
1. You say that Assange was "trapped in a limbo of his own making". This is said without explanation but obviously lays blame on Assange when he has not been found guilty of anything and is imprisoned despite being internationally recognised as a political refugee who was illegally evicted from the Ecuadorian embassy.
2. You say, that "the years have turned Assange into a victim". Not "the years" but the Kafkaesque brutal persecution by the US & UK as detailed in Nils Melzer's book The Trial of Julian Assange.
3. You say, "the recklessness of Assange’s release of confidential diplomatic cables". Not reckless but carefully considered. Again, consult Melzer's book or even Wikipedia about this and you will discover Assange went to great lengths to mitigate any harm to anyone and no harm to anyone has ever been documented. Check the findings of Manning's 2013 court martial. Two online organisations had published the unredacted Cables before Wikileaks after disgruntled Guardian journalists David Leigh maliciously broke an agreement and published an encrypted Wikileaks password. Also Assange asked the US to assist in making redactions but the State Dept refused.
4. You say, Assange was "holed up" in the Ecuadorian embassy "voluntarily." As the UN rapporteur on arbitrary detention found, Assange was a bona fide political refugee surrounded 24/7 by British police who prevented him from leaving.
5. You say he "fought extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges" when no charges were ever laid and as discovered by Italian journalist Stefania Maurizi the Swedish investigation was drawn out at the insistence of the UK's Crown Prosecution Service headed by Keir Starmer to manufacture a narrative that Assange was on the run from the law when in fact he tried to cooperate with Swedish investigators despite the interference of the CPS which destroyed its correspondence with the Swedes in a cover-up.
NOTES
[1] [Republished from Tony Murphy's post at facebook Canberra Conversations at https://www.facebook.com/groups/839556946246928/
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