Julian Assange: No victory, just no defeat
PEN Berlin welcomes the British High Court’s decision to suspend Julian Assange’s extradition to the US. However, spokesperson Eva Menasse stressed that Tuesday’s ruling does not represent a decision on the merits of the case, and that the Supreme Court had merely allowed an appeal against an earlier decision.
“Julian Assange could not win today; for him it was only a matter of not losing – as so often in the past 13 years,” Menasse said. “We are very relieved that our honorary member has been spared extradition for the time being. However, he will remain in the hands of the British judiciary, which – together with the Swedish judiciary – has unfortunately become a proxy for the US political judiciary in recent years. The British judiciary must put an end to this situation as soon as possible, release Assange and grant him humane prison conditions in the meantime.
PEN Berlin recalls that Julian Assange has been in prison for over 13 years because of the publications of WikiLeaks. However, no one has yet been brought to justice for the war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan exposed by WikiLeaks.
PEN Berlin – We stand by our word