|
On the phone TONIGHT 10pm Eastern / 7pm Pacific with Kevin Gosztola of The Dissenter blog at Firedoglake, co-author of Truth & Consequences: The U.S. v Bradley Manning and the subject of this interview . We invite all onto a conference call to discuss Bradley's case, as we prepare to march for him in Pride parades this Sunday (see below for details). We'll also talk about the request by Julian Assange for political asylum in Ecuador. Write Debra Sweet for details on the one hour call.
• • • • •
Yesterday we learned that Julian Assange had gone to the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to claim political asylum. By all accounts, his concern is not an investigation of sex crimes in Sweden, for which he has not been charged. His legitimate concern is that, on extradition to Sweden from the UK, his ultimate destination will be the United States.
From a leak of emails from the private security company Stratfor , which has a fat contract with the US government, we learned that the government has a possible indictment of Assange prepared in connection with Wikileaks.
Glenn Greenwald asks the question many of us have:
Can anyone claim that Assange’s fear of ending up in American custody is anything other than supremely reasonable and rational? Just look at what has happened to people — especially foreign nationals — over the last decade who have been accused of harming the national security of the United States.
They’re imprisoned — still — without a whiff of due process, and President Obama just last year signed a new indefinite detention bill into law. Moreover, Assange need merely look at what the U.S. has done to Bradley Manning, accused of leaking documents and other materials to WikiLeaks: the Army Private was held for almost a year in solitary confinement conditions which a formal U.N. investigation found were “cruel, inhuman and degrading,” and he now faces life in prison, charged with a capital offense.
While Bradley Manning struggles to mount a defense against a monumental government effort at keeping evidence from his legal team, who could possibly expect Assange to get a fair trial in the U.S?
 Michael Ratner, with the Center for Constitutional Rights, representing him in the U.S., spoke Wednesday on Democracy Now .
Revealing and publishing the crimes of the U.S. is what Manning and Assange are being punished for.
Sunday June 24: Join PRIDE Marches with the Bradley Manning contingents. Help build support in the LGBT community:
San Francisco: 9:30 am, Howard & Main Streets
Chicago: 11:00 am, 4500 N. Broadway (front of new Target)
NYC: 11:30 am West 39th Street between 5th/6th Avenues, (Parade Section 4 Order #12)
Add your message/photo to I am Bradley Manning, especially if you can't join us Sunday. Download and distribute the new flier for Bradley Manning.
By Debra Sweet, Director, World Can't Wait
|
