Fighting for Assange!

Corbyn joins the human chain

by New Worker correspondent

Jeremy Corbyn joined protesters in Westminster last weekend to demonstrate against the extradition of Julian Assange. The former Labour leader joined left-wing comedian Russell Brand, retired union leader Len McCluskey and thousands of other Assange supporters to form a human chain outside Parliament that stretched from its perimeter railings and across Westminster Bridge to the other side of the River Thames.
    Claudia Webbe, the independent MP for Leicester East who was expelled from the Labour Party following a conviction for harassment last year, also took part in the London protest that was part of a day of international demonstrations in solidarity with the WiKiLeaks campaigner.
    “I would say to MPs – actually of any party – you’re there to represent democracy and rights,” she said, “That’s what you sign up for… if Julian Assange is extradited, it will set forth fear among other journalists of doing anything to expose truth”.
    Assange, who is currently being held at London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison, will face espionage charges if he is sent to face trial in America. High Court has ruled that Assange can be extradited to the United States to face a life-time in jail for exposing American war-crimes in Iraq and other parts of the world The WikiLeaks founder is accused of publishing information detailing crimes committed by the US government in the Guantánamo Bay concentration camp, Iraq and Afghanistan.
    Assange’s wife Stella said the British government should speak to the US authorities to stop the extradition attempts. “It’s already gone on for three and a half years. It is a stain on the United Kingdom and is a stain on the Biden administration,” she said.
    She also voiced her fears for the jailed WikiLeaks founder’s health after he tested positive for Covid-19.
    "He tested positive for Covid on Saturday, the same day thousands of people came out onto the streets to support him," Stella said concerned that the prison authorities had only given her husband some paracetamol for his symptoms.
    "I am obviously worried about him and the next few days will be crucial for his general health. He is now locked in his cell for 24 hours a day," Stella stressed.
    In the US, supporters of the Australian-born activist gathered outside the Justice Department to call on the federal government to drop its extradition bid. The protesters said they hope Assange never steps foot on US soil as he would not be treated fairly by the judicial system.
    “Julian wasn’t trying to help dictatorships, he was trying to stop the United States from becoming one! And that’s why they want him in jail, and that’s why it’s crucial that we fight to set Julian free,” 2020 Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate Spike Cohen said at the rally.
    Human trafficking survivor Eliza Bleu urged the “global elites, the ruling class” and employees of the CIA and FBI to “be a hero, quit your job and become a whistleblower.”
    “If it’s a choice between free speech and the United States government, trust and know, one’s gotta go! If one has to go, it ain’t gonna be free speech!” she said, adding that she is so passionate about freedom because she knows what it is like to lose it.