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Assange's Tough Sentence In UK Signals Start Of Campaign To Curb Press Freedom - Activists
Muhammad Irfan Published May 02, 2019 | 04:00 PM
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's tough sentence for breaching bail in the United Kingdom marked the beginning of a deliberate campaign to silence critical journalists' voices and curb press freedom, Christine Dopf, spokeswoman for the Unity4J campaign, told Sputnik
LONDON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd May, 2019) WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's tough sentence for breaching bail in the United Kingdom marked the beginning of a deliberate campaign to silence critical journalists' voices and curb press freedom, Christine Dopf, spokeswoman for the Unity4J campaign, told Sputnik.
On Wednesday, a London court sentenced Assange to 50 weeks in prison for breaching bail by going into hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012. The whistleblower's supporters were outraged by the tough ruling.
"This is the first in a series of events that are ultimately intended to silence dissent and degrade press freedom. The persecution of Julian Assange (and [US whistleblower] Chelsea Manning) gives whistleblowers and at-risk journalists less of a chance at being meaningfully protected and supported than they did when Assange was at the helm of WikiLeaks," Dopf said on Wednesday.
The spokeswoman added that the ruling was based solely on political motivations.
"It's abundantly clear that the persecution of Julian Assange is political. ... [Wednesday's] judgment was in line with previous actions by UK Judges who have made it clear that they intend to throw the book at Julian. This isn't about justice for them � it's about making an example of him. It's about retribution," Dopf said.
On Wednesday, Kristinn Hrafnsson, the editor-in-chief of the WikiLeaks non-profit organization that publishes classified information, also expressed outrage over the ruling, saying that it was "vindictive" and "outrageous."
Later on Thursday, Assange is due to appear in London court to face a hearing on the US request for his extradition. The hearing will start at 10 a.m. local time (09:00 GMT) in Westminster Magistrate Court. The US Department of Justice said it was seeking to extradite Assange over "conspiracy to commit computer intrusion" for allegedly agreeing with Manning to break a password to a classified US government computer.
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