Apr 5 at 2:00AM
Celebrities and political
activists have rallied in solidarity around WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange,
whose internet access was abruptly suspended
by the Ecuadorian government last week, by signing an open letter demanding that it be restored.
The signatories not only
include prominent intellectuals, like Noam Chomsky and Slavoj Zizek, and
journalists, but also famous artists. Rapper M.I.A. added her name to the
list, alongside filmmaker Oliver Stone, musician Brian Eno, fashion designer
Vivienne Westwood, and actress Pamela Anderson.
“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,” the letter reads.
“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.”
Supporters Westwood and
Anderson have both visited
Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London over recent years, where
he has resided since 2012. The WikiLeaks founder had fled there to avoid being
extradited to Sweden, where he faced an investigation related to allegations of
sexual assault.
While denying the allegations,
Assange said that he feared an extradition to Sweden would result in an
extradition to the U.S. where the Justice
Department has been investigating WikiLeaks since 2010.
The Swedish investigation and
extradition request has since been dropped, but a British judge ruled in
February that Assange would still face arrest by British authorities if he
leaves the protection of the embassy over breaching his original bail
conditions.
When the Ecuadorian government
cut off his internet and suspended his right to receive visitors on March 28,
the WikiLeaks founder had been tweeting at a British lawmaker who had called
him a “miserable worm.”
According to Ecuadorian
officials, however, it was Assange’s tweets about the arrest of former Catalan
President Carles Puigdemont in Germany that provoked the decision to cut off
his access.
In a statement, officials said
that Assange had violated a signed agreement “not to issue messages that
supposed an interference in relation to other States.” WikiLeaks’ official
Twitter account claimed the agreement did not exist.
Since the silencing,
supporters and transparency activists sought to raise pressure on the
Ecuadorian government to reinstate Assange’s internet access.
The first major push came the
same day in the form of an online vigil broadcast and social media drive under
the banner #ReconnectAssange, led by New Zealand Internet Party leader Suzie
Dawson and entrepreneur Kim Dotcom.
During a 10-hour livestream,
supporters from across the world made contributions, including representatives
of Pirate Parties International, CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, journalist
Elizabeth Vos, and Gateway Pundit writer Cassandra Fairbanks.
Last year the Courage
Foundation, an advocacy organization, announcedWikiLeaks and all its staff as beneficiaries.
WikiLeaks section editor Sarah Harrison stepped down as acting director of
Courage when she became a beneficiary, but on Tuesday it was announced she
would take a role on the organization’s Advisory Board.
Courage has been instrumental
in pointing supporters to a public petition in support of Assange launched
by DiEM25, a self-described pan-European movement of left-wing
Democrats. That petition now has over 43,000 signatures with a target of
50,000.
In a separate letter,
submitted to the Ecuadorian government on Wednesday, 338 intellectuals and academics from 33 countries expressed
their concern that “the security, integrity, mental health and political rights
of Assange are being violated.”
Last year, two doctors warned
that his state of isolation at the embassy, deprived of safe access to medical
services, would have a detrimental impact on Assange’s physical and mental health.
Despite ongoing efforts and
the gathering support to #ReconnectAssange, however, the Ecuadorian government
shows no signs of suddenly changing its position or indication as to when it
may eventually lift the suspension.
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