Shortly before the court decision on the extradition of Julian Assange to the USA, the organization Reporters without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) demanded the immediate release of the Wikileaks founder. Assange should no longer be prosecuted for his journalistic work. According to its own information, RSF 108. 000 has submitted signatures against the extradition to the British government.

“The US indictment against Julian Assange is clearly politically motivated,” said Christian Mihr, executive director of the German section of RSF. “The US wants to set an example and have a deterrent effect on media workers all over the world.” On Monday, January 4th, a court in London will decide on the extradition.

“If the US is successful with its extradition request and brings Assange to justice, every journalist faces the same fate in the future worldwide who publish secret information of public interest, “said Mihr according to dpa. “This is where the future of journalism and freedom of the press worldwide is at stake.”

“Precedent for the protection of freedom of expression and freedom of the press” The human rights commissioner of the federal government, Bärbel Kofler (SPD), was concerned about the process. Before the turn of the year, she said of the extradition procedure: “Human rights and humanitarian aspects of a possible extradition must not be overlooked. Julian Assange’s physical and mental health must be taken into account when deciding on extradition to the USA.” You will therefore follow the case closely. At the end of December, an intergroup initiative from the CDU to the Left was founded in the Bundestag. The members of the Bundestag are calling for the release of Assange, whose trial is a precedent for the protection of freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

The US judiciary is accusing the native Australian Assange, together with whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who served as a soldier in the US Army for stealing and publishing classified material from US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The 49 -year-old put the lives of US informants in danger, is the allegation. His supporters, however, see him as an investigative journalist who has brought war crimes to light. For years Assange had evaded arrest by escaping to the Ecuadorian embassy in London. In the USA, if convicted, he faces a sentence of up to 175 years.

(ktn)