opinion
Julian Assange to be extradited to the United States. Journalist representatives speak of a “black day” for press freedom. It’s an example of how journalism is being criminalized in the West – and how the supposedly “free” world is undermining itself.
About a month ago, “Spiegel” journalists published the Xingjiang Police Files, providing comprehensive evidence of the Chinese atrocities against the Uyghurs. In the FinCenFiles, journalists from the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” revealed the criminal machinations of major international banks. Oliver Schröm, formerly editor-in-chief at “Correctiv”, revealed in the CumEx files which tricks banks use to trick states into billions in tax money. Now let’s imagine the following: All of you and many others have made themselves punishable with their work and now have to answer in court or go to prison: The “Spiegel” journalists around Bernhard Zand are extradited to China, the SZ journalists have to before the International Court of Justice and Chancellor Olaf Scholz decides on Oliver Schröm’s fate.
Thought experiments like these, in which journalism becomes a crime, could hardly be more utopian in this country. And yet they are closer to reality than one might think. Because the case of Julian Assange is a real example. The now 50-year-old founder of the Wikileaks disclosure platform had uncovered American war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. A video posted to the platform shows US soldiers shooting civilians, knowing they are not armed terrorists. Such crimes happen in wars. That doesn’t justify them, but it is a fact that has become particularly problematic in the Assange case.
Because instead of calling the perpetrators to account, the US judiciary is now accusing the Australian of high treason – allegedly because he is said to have stolen and published secret material from the US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and a huge number of diplomatic cables. In doing so, he endangered the lives of American informants in various countries. And has become a spy in the eyes of the United States. Since 2019, he has been incarcerated in Belmarsh Prison, along with terrorists, murderers and rapists. But the United States has been fighting for his extradition for some time. The Swedes, among others, played an important role in this, stamping Assange as a criminal in a hair-raising rape case.
What Julian Assange is really costing the West
Now the last hurdle has been cleared and Assange is within the Americans’ grasp, because Great Britain has approved his extradition after years of tug-of-war. “British courts have not found in this case that it would be repressive, unfair or an abuse of process to extradite Mr Assange,” the UK Home Office said. His fundamental rights – including the rights to due process and freedom of expression – are not affected. If the verdict is carried out and the appeal of the Assange camp is rejected, he faces a prison sentence of 175 years in the USA.
What that means for the values that are always propagated in the West, such as freedom of the press and the rule of law, is obvious: not only that a person was imprisoned for years under inhumane conditions for investigating a war crime – first in the Ecuadorian embassy under permanent video surveillance, later then in Solitary confinement in Belmarsh, UK, and possibly in the United States in the future. UN Special Rapporteur Nils Melzer describes the treatment of Assange as torture.
In the face of a dictatorial regime that is currently acting as an aggressor in Eastern Europe, committing war crimes and silencing opponents of the regime, the West is putting its credibility at risk. For countries like Russia and China, the Assange case should come across as a prime example of their propaganda – without the countries having to think up much. The defense of press freedom and the rule of law thus turn out to be Western hypocrisy.
Two political figures in particular are bitterly disappointing here: Barack Obama, under whom the persecution of Assange first began, and Joe Biden, who is now dutifully continuing it. Like Donald Trump, the president who politically cultivated fake news and lies, his predecessors and successors have had a habit of following through with this course in the Assange case—only in a more subtle way. The loud exclamation “Fake News!” is missing, instead they are trying to wear down Assange by means of lengthy court proceedings. Of course he still has the right to express his opinion. But at what price?
Criminalization of the fourth estate
Investigative journalism is not only criminalized here and the fourth power undermined in the state. The politicians also formulate the right to commit crimes with impunity. In view of this, the fact that the USA and Great Britain, among others, are involved in the investigation of Russian war crimes in Ukraine can hardly be taken seriously.
The organization Reporters Without Borders spoke of a “devastating signal for freedom of the press”. The German Association of Journalists called on the United States to drop the charges. And the human rights policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Peter Heidt, described non-extradition as “a strong sign of freedom of the press”, not without emphasizing at the same time that Great Britain and the USA are constitutional states.
Western values degenerate into empty clichés and meaningless clichés. After Edward Snowden, Julian Assange is the second major case in which the West persecutes people at the expense of their proclaimed values. You don’t have to side with Julian Assange if you don’t like the man and his research methods. But one should stick to the self-imposed rules and thus recognize the merit of investigative research.
Children actually learn that the consequences are less severe if you admit mistakes instead of sweeping them under the carpet of lies. Western countries should learn this as soon as possible. And if they don’t want to be held accountable for their missteps, then at least they want to be held accountable for their principles.
Source: Stern
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
