Why I Support Julian Assange and Wikileaks

A heavy burden has been placed on my heart in regards to the detainment of Julian Assange. He has been in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for over 7 years without fresh air, sunlight or proper exercise and without suitable access to medical care. This is a human rights violation and is illegal. The UN has ruled twice in his favor for him to be released but the UK continues to hold him and recently a UK judge ruled against his release claiming he has access to the above mentioned necessities (which simply is not true). He has been allowed on the balcony a total of six times in seven years for approximately 5 minutes to hold news conferences. That is simply not enough fresh air and sunlight for anyone.

I will list below the main reasons I am so passionate about freeing Assange and supporting Wikileaks, though this may become a long article and take some time to read, so bare with me.

 

1. The Inhumanity of His Detainment

Men like Assange are only useful to the general population when they can be used for certain gains, which in his case are political. When we are in need of his leaks, he is a hero and considered a great asset. When we are done using him, we forget about his plight because of our own lack of consideration for others. People lack sympathy, empathy and any sense of compassion in today’s society, so a man like Mr Assange will continue to suffer.

People don’t understand the suffering endured by not getting regular exercise and fresh air or proper medical treatment. If they have never had to live in the situation Julian does they do not understand the complications it causes. We know that isolation is physically bad for us over long periods of time but there are psychological factors at play as well. People become mentally instable, some have hallucinations and lose all sense of time. They begin to have trouble understanding and relating to other’s needs and feelings.

Another thing scientists have found is that the individual becomes restless, agitated, and cannot sleep. Paranoia may set in. In Julian’s case, he has a right to be paranoid as the Police in London are always trying to spy. Lack of sleep is going to make this feeling stronger as days go on. His mental cognition and ability to concentrate has been effected by the constant isolation from the outside world.

Most people who are finally freed of this find that they are no longer the same person and cannot communicate with others as they once did. Family and friends are not viewed as they once they were. Biologists believe that human emotions evolved because they assisted in co-operation among our early ancestors who benefited from living together. Their primary function is social.Isolating an individual has long term effects socially as well. Most people describe a feeling of being numb and no longer experiencing emotions. Some never interact properly again.

Julian is not getting enough socially in order to maintain a proper emotional outlook. He cannot see his family or children for fear they will be threatened. He has to have all visitors vetted properly for fear of spying devices brought in, possible explosives or even food poisoning. This must add to any paranoia he would already experience and make him highly anxious. The report stated he has trouble sleeping at night. Can you blame him?

The lack of sunlight Julian is experiencing can cause all sorts of problems from depression to softer bones. It can cause heart disease in men, it can cause your body to be unable to rid itself of infections and viruses like the flu, and can also cause obesity. Those who spend an extended period awake at night and are exposed to artificial lights have shown are prone to the development of breast and prostate cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. So how is Julian doing it?

Well, I know from reading several articles that he uses a special light for 20 minutes twice a day but this is not the same thing as actual daylight. The depression he must feel at times from the isolation has to be heightened by the lack of sunlight. Let’s face it, even prisoners get an hour outside each day.

What is happening to Julian Assange is not only inhumane but against his human rights as the UN has ruled. Great Britain needs to give this man safe passage even if it is just to Ecuador where he can continue his political asylum. This is cruel and unusual punishment for a man who according to authorities jumped bail to seek asylum. All allegations from Sweden have been dropped and there is no excuse for continuing this horrible behavior towards this innocent man.

 

2. The First Amendment: Free Speech and Free Press

If they extradite Julian Assange to the United States and succeed in prosecuting them this opens the door to a madhouse of arrests and persecutions. Here is why…

1. Free speech and free press are consitutional rights and once you violate the First Amendment, it is easier to continue. Julian Assange is a publisher and a journalist, nothing more.
2. By impeding free press, soon free speech will follow for all citizens as they begin to indoctrinate what we are allowed to say.
3. Once this happens, all Constitutional rights will begin to disappear and we will soon lose our freedom.

If they succeed, then they have to arrest any publisher or journalist who has published a leak regardless of it was to expose corruption or not. In ten years of publishing, Wikileaks has never been proven wrong. They yell for his arrest because what he publishes is the truth.

Arresting Assange is nothing more than a political scam. When he exposed George W Bush and the war crimes, he was hailed a hero by the left. Once he began publishing stuff from the Democrats, he became an enemy of the left and an ally for the right. This is nothing more than one side using this man to ruin the other side. That is not right!

He has been called a spy so they can bring him here under the Espionage Act of 1917. However, the definition is as follows: work for a government or other organization by secretly collecting information about enemies or competitors.

Julian operates Wikileaks. He is the founder, editor and publisher of these documents. He does not obtain these documents on his own. Whistleblowers and leakers bring them to him. Just like at the NY Times and the Washington Post. So if you arrest and prosecute Assange under any act, you must also do so to other media organizations that have released similar publications. Soon, you would have to jail every journalist and publisher for what they publish and then we are no longer a Republic. The government then truly is Big Brother from 1984.

So, we need to free Assange. It’s pretty simple. There is no reason for his continued detainment. The only thing the British government could be holding him for is to extradite him so the United States can get information from him and then rid themselves of the voice of truth.

3. Fourth Amendment Rights: Rights to Privacy Being Violated

As a supporter of Wikileaks and Julian Assange, I can tell you because of #Vault7 and other resources, that our government, in particular the CIA and NSA feels it is okay to spy on us and violate our rights to privacy because we are supporters. Here is an article I shared on it.

How the US Government is Violating our Fourth Amendment Rights

The fourth amendment protects our rights to privacy as well as other items as stated here:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

In other words, no government organization may spy on you, or go through your property without a court order including seizing your property without probable cause. A warrant must be issued by a sitting judge to do any of these things. This also ensures your right to privacy. In other words, the NSA, CIA and FBI are not allowed to spy on the average citizen without good reason and a judge’s permission. So why are they doing this on a regular basis?

Wikileaks talks about the illegal spying the NSA and CIA are doing through our computers, webcams and phones in their release of Vault 7. Back in 2010, Edward Snowden also exposed this on a smaller scale. So who gave them the rights to invade our privacy and listen and watch us? This is like a bad version of Big Brother in 1984 come to life. In today’s life, the one place you still should have privacy is in your home. However, it appears this is not the case.

With cameras on every street corner, all over the stores and work places, we are constantly being watched like prisoners. Sure, these videos can help in cases of robbery and murder or even terrorist acts, but someone walking down a public street should not have to be on video. Now, we find out, they are doing this in our homes. Our tvs have listening devices in them according to the recent CIA leaks on Wikileaks. What else are they spying on us with? This is a scary scenario.

Worse yet, many people have had their assets seized based on allegations. In the case of Julian Assange, his credit cards were held without his knowledge while he was in Sweden leaving him with no funds whatsoever to take care of himself. This in fact led to him staying with several girls who offered him temporary sleeping quarters in their beds and led to the allegations of rape which have been dropped.

Then there was the case of @KimDotCom a hacker that was had millions of dollars in assets seized by the US government. It wasn’t even filed until 2 years after the government seized all his assets and sought to extradite him to the US. The catch is the case is not a case against him but against his assets. Make any sense to you? In his case, the government had certain rights to do so but he hadn’t even been to court yet, let alone convicted for anything.

So how many more people will be spied on illegally or their items seized before it ever goes to court based on allegations? To me, this is not right and our government has overstepped it’s bounds. There are other cases of the NSA and CIA listening in on conversations that they had no business doing such as the Trump tower, Sean Hannity and several Congressman while under the Obama administration.

We the people need to stand up against the violation of our fourth amendment rights. We need to write Congress, the president, the DOJ and even the media to complain about these violations. If we use our voice, vote often and write letters we can change this illegal system.

4. Wikileaks is honest and infallible

Wikileaks uses an email verification system called DKIM or Domain Keys Identified Mail, it was used to verify emails from Podesta, the DNC, as well as Hillary Clinton. It is a highly regarded, sophisticated technological system. According to wikileaks verification page:

“DKIM was developed and is widely deployed as an email server anti-spam mechanism, including on Gmail.com and HillaryClinton.com. DKIM-enabled mail servers cryptographically sign the emails they relay so that the recipients’ mail servers can authenticate them. DKIM has the beneficial side-effect of causing messages to become “cryptographically non-repudiable”; that is after the email has been sent, the sender cannot credibly repudiate the message and say that it is a forgery. A DKIM mail server creates a cryptographically strong proof attesting to the authenticity of the email, which it adds to each of the headers of each email it sends. This cryptographic proof can then be tested by anyone who obtains a copy of the email.”

In other words, these emails are verified and were not doctored. The only time WikiLeaks edits a document is for safety purposes such as the possibility of harm to an individual. In fact, WikiLeaks has a security measure to secure its anonymous sources and protect them as well.

Other documents are verified and are tested for their accuracy through technological means as well as the old-fashioned way by having journalists interview victims and go through files such as in the case of the Collateral Murder Video. According to WikiLeaks About Page :

“We use traditional investigative journalism techniques as well as more modern technology-based methods. Typically we will do a forensic analysis of the document, determine the cost of forgery, means, motive, opportunity, the claims of the apparent authoring organization, and answer a set of other detailed questions about the document. We may also seek external verification of the document.”

Another current smear is that Wikileaks is an intelligence agency and Russian disinformation organization. Again, this is an attempt to discredit information Wikileaks and Julian Assange has released to the public. This has been going on since their very first release and is a blatant falsehood.

The definition of an intelligence agency according to Oxford dictionaries siteis as follows:

A government department involved in the gathering of military or political information, especially in the interests of national security.

Wikileaks has no affiliation with any government or it’s agencies. They are simply a publishing service that specifically releases leaked material. The documents are never hacked by WikiLeaks employees but are instead sent to them through secure venues such as Tor. Anything else you read about them should be vetted for accuracy through the WikiLeaks website WikiLeaks.org In fact, you should always vet anything you read online and verify the source of the information you are receiving for truth.

Also keep in mind, that in the 11 years WikiLeaks has existed they have never had to retract a story and have won all court cases that have challenged the authenticity of their documentation.

Here is a list of their and Assange’s many awards, though there are some missing from this list.

WikiLeaks, its publisher and its journalists have won many awards, including:

• The Economist New Media Award (2008)
• The Amnesty New Media Award (2009)
• TIME Magazine Person of the Year, People’s Choice (highest global vote) (2010)
• The Sam Adams Award for Integrity (2010)
• The National Union of Journalists Journalist of the Year (Hrafnsson) (2011)
• The Sydney Peace Foundation Gold Medal (2011)
• The Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism (2011)
• The Blanquerna Award for Best Communicator (2011)
• The Walkley Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism (2011)
• The Voltaire Award for Free Speech (2011)
• The International Piero Passetti Journalism Prize of the National Union of Italian Journalists (2011)
• The Jose Couso Press Freedom Award (2011)
• The Privacy International Hero of Privacy (2012)
• The Global Exchange Human Rights People’s Choice Award (2013)
• The Yoko Ono Lennon Courage Award for the Arts (2013)
• The Brazillian Press Association Human Rights Award (2013)
• The Kazakstan Union of Journalists Top Prize (2014)

This organization is a publisher not a hostile intelligence organization!

5. The Persecution by the Press and Government Agencies Wishing To Silence His Voice

It’s not just the CIA, the NSA or various other countries trying to silence him, it’s trolls on the internet, Pierre Amidyar of Ebay and Paypal fame, it’s the Clintons and their followers, it’s the Senate Intel Committee and recently some Julian’s former allies from the Freedom of the Press Foundation all the way to Barrett Brown who the Courage Foundation helped with lawyer fees and Julian himself wrote to while he was inprisoned.  It would be interesting to follow the link between Barrett now all the way up to the top to see why he turned on Wikileaks.

Between the trolls screaming and the media lying, it is time someone steps up and tells the truth. I will send you to various links to prove what I am saying is true to demonstrate to you why all of the latest garbage online is bogus and is meant to discredit WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. Many of the accusations are so far off I cannot believe anyone would even believe them.

Then, of course, there is the continuous barrage of death threats over and over.

Julian has a great deal of integrity and if you don’t know what that is I am about to give you the definition. Dictionary.com states:

“adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.”

I am going to repeat a statement that I think is very important regarding both Wikileaks and Assange. In 11 years of existence, they have never had to retract a story and have won every court case disputing their documentation. Find another publisher who can say that. All there received material is verified and scrutinized. Their methods can be found here. WikiLeaks Verification and the Current Smear Campaign as well as on their site wikileaks.org

Another smear has been that they are a Russian disinformation agency. Another unbelievable attempt at damaging their perfect reputation. If they were Russia’s puppet why do they publish documents exposing them? Here is the link for that. wikileaks Russian files

The final thing I want to speak to you about is people who insist that Julian is a rapist. This is an awful, slanderous name to call an innocent man. I am just going to refer you to two links and will write an entire article on proof that he isn’t. This is an issue dear to my heart, and it angers me when people look past facts to discredit a man who is so honest and trustworthy. Here are the links: iamwikileaks.org and justice4assange.com To add to this I would like to remind people that allegations were dropped in May after Assange and his lawyers met with Sweden and Julian was allowed to put forth his statement. Also, recently, it has come out that the UK and Sweden were deleting emails and import documents regarding his case. In fact, there was a court hearing started today in regards to the deletions.

The allegations mind you were never charges and Julian has been detained illegally against 2 UN rulings about violating his rights for over 7 years because the US wants to extradite him. There is no reason for the UK to arrest him now without a court case impending unless it is to send him here where he will be held indefinitely under the NDAA act of 2011.

For the record, anyone who potentially supports Wikileaks or Julian Assange, media or otherwise has become a possible target by the US government and the Deep State. Whether you are a journalist like Caitlin Johnstone, a Republican member of the House like Dana Rohrabacher who visited Julian or a radio host like Randy Credico, you find yourself in the predicament of being a person of interest. Another person who became a bull’s eye in the Deep State’s sight is Trevor Fitzgibbon, but why?

The United States Department of Justice continues to neither deny or admit to wanting to extradite Julian Assange on charges of espionage and theft of government property. In fact, several times they have denied the allegation of seeking charges against him. (However, this is not true.) So why go after supporters and friends of Wikileaks? Why has the Senate Intel Committee included Section 623 of the Intel Act of 2018 to declare Wikileaks and its founder a hostile intelligence agency when all they really are is a publisher? Are they afraid that Wikileaks will expose more of their corruption and criminal activity? We must assume so.

Obviously, they see supporters and friends alike as a serious threat to the establishment. Words like racist and Russian spy have been applied to supporters and friends alike. Caitlin Johnstone was targeted shortly after Wikileaks and Mr. Assange tweeted several of her articles. Randy Credico was subpoenaed to appear in front of the Senate Intel Committee after interviewing Julian. (He claimed the 5th amendment shortly thereafter).

Trevor Fitzgibbon’s life and PR business were destroyed after being accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault which were later dropped by the court systems. Trevor continues to struggle currently. He had represented Assange, Wikileaks, and Manning as a PR consultant and was then targeted.

Don’t forget Jacob Applebaum who was also accused of sexual misconduct who worked with Wikileaks and developed Tor. However, Mr. Applebaum was never charged with any crime. They succeeded however in assassinating his character.

Then there is the attacks on supporters on Twitter. I, myself, have been a victim of this. Whether they are just trolls looking to be offensive or actual government supported bots, many Wikileaks supporters have found themselves being assailed for their backing of the organization. Sometimes, receiving threats, as well as character assassination and even doxxing. How many of us have questioned these onslaughts to be directly from the US government to attempt to scare us away from our vigils and support?

The even bigger question raised is how long before our government’s agency come after us as criminals for abetting the enemy? Section 623 definitely opens the door to this possibility. We are not outlaws in society. We simply see the drastic inhumanity in what they are doing to Assange through his detainment and want real justice for a man who did nothing but tell the truth.

In other words, as US citizens and friends of Assange, we are all viewed as possible advocates for an organization they view as a terrorist agency simply because they publish documents exposing corruption in governments. This is simply an atrocity and a violation of our Rights as citizens of the United States and is a terrible example to the rest of the world.

6.  The Courage Foundation and Julian Assange’s Support of Whistleblowers, Hactivists and it’s Advocates

The 3 names that come to mind are Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and Lauri Love. Chelsea was in the military when he leaked his documents to Wikileaks. He was convicted of being a traitor but later set free for releasing classified documents which disclosed war crimes by the US. Edward Snowden is a whistleblower who showed us all how the government is spying on us and violating our 4th amendment rights to privacy. Lauri Love is a hacktivist who will be going on trial for also gaining data by hacking into a US database. All 3 are considered criminals in the US.

Is disclosing a scandal really a crime? What about Julian Assange and Wikileaks who simply published information given to them that also exposed corruption at the highest level of government? Julian Assange would face 45 years in prison if extradited to the United States.

Ask yourself this. If whistleblowers, hacktivists, and leakers did not exist, would governments be held accountable for the misconduct they hide behind closed doors? Are laws too strict on these individuals?

Yes, in the United States the laws are incredibly strict. No other democracy in the world has stricter laws. Punishment for individuals who commit an act of exposure often faces the rest of their life in prison and outrageous fees. In fact, most face more time than a rapist, murderer or pedophile. Why should they get more time than acts of violence?

Simply put, the treatment of the above is unfair and oftentimes way overboard. It is time that government officials stop persecuting these people and reward them for doing the right thing. After all, when we turn our heads to wrong, we are just as guilty.

A direct quote from Assange himself on injustice:

“Every time we witness an injustice and do not act, we train our character to be passive in its presence and thereby eventually lose all ability to defend ourselves and those we love. In a modern economy it is impossible to seal oneself off from injustice.”

8. Julian Assange is a Political Refugee

The definition of political refugee is “a refugee from an oppressive government.” So you are wondering what makes Julian fall under this definition right? Well another definition is “a person who has fled from a homeland because of political persecution.” If you look at Assange’s case, you will see he fits under this definition. I will explain as I go along so bear with me.

Julian was born in Australia and is still considered a citizen there. However, by rights, he is also considered a citizen of the United Kingdom. How is this possible? According to wikipedia:

Australia is a Monarchy which is a form of government in which a hereditary king or queen serves as the nation’s sovereign. Australia is governed under a form of constitutional monarchy, largely modelled on the Westminster system of parliamentary government, while incorporating features unique to the Constitution of Australia.

So in essence, the Queen of England is the sovereign leader. Thereby making any citizen of Australia a citizen of the England.

Britain has persecuted Assange in that they arrested him on allegations he raped someone in Sweden with the intention of extraditing him to the United States. The allegations of rape never became charges and were officially dropped in May of this year. So why is Assange still in the Embassy you ask? Because Britain wants to arrest him anyway for missing a bail hearing and taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy. Julian has been in there for over 5 years. Isn’t that long enough for missing a bail hearing? A bail hearing that a normal citizen would be fined for and not jailed? So why is Britain continuing with their siege of the Embassy.

I have two theories that probably go together in the end. First Britain still wants to extradite Assange to the US to supposedly face trial there. However, under the NDAA law passed in 2011 by Barrack Obama, the US can detain him indefinitely without trial. Britain stands to gain from the extradition because the US is their closest ally. The US buys a substantial amount of products from the UK. Also, let’s face it, the United States is considered the most powerful country in the world.

My second theory is that they are sore about the money they have spent to keep the Embassy under seige. To them, letting Assange go would be likeY a kick in the ass. You are still asking how does this make him a refugee correct?

The whole reason that Assange was arrested was based on the information published on Wikileaks about Iraq that they obtained from Manning and began publishing them on November 28th, 2010. Before that, according to wikipedia “in April 2010, WikiLeaks released the so-called Collateral Murderfootage from the 12 July 2007 Baghdad airstrike in which Iraqi journalists were among those killed.”

The US government was not happy to say the least.

By releasing the documents that they did, Assange became a political prisoner who could not see any way out of the situation he was in. Many in America were screaming not only for a trial but for his death. In any case, all Julian was truly guilty of was exposing the truth of a corrupt government.

Are you beginning to see the picture here? Britain was never going to let Mr. Assange go. They had no intention of sending him to Sweden and he knew that, so he sought political asylum in Ecuador. He could not leave Britain as the government had taken his credentials so he had no choice. So for 5 years Julian has lived in a box not much bigger than a walk in closet. By seeking asylum from a government who intended on making him pay for telling the truth, he is imprisoned in that Embassy with no other options but to stay.

So ask yourself, is this fair? Is it humane to keep a man inside a box for 5 years and counting? Is it right to not let him see his children grow up, to isolate him from the world for doing nothing wrong? Well, is it?

The UN ruled that Britain was in violation of his human rights and to release him immediately and yet the UK government refused. To me, this makes every government official guilty of tyranny and is no better than the Nazi regime who imprisoned Jews based on their racial background. You could compare this treatment to Gitmo and the torture that goes on there.

Can Assange ever be the same man he was? No. That is impossible. He lost his freedom and pays a price higher than most would. Perhaps, he could’ve

stopped publishing the truth but that is not within him. He is a political refugee and only we can help him.

Petition the British government. Write them scathing letters. Write to the US government as well. Support Wikileaks and Julian on social media. Help us educate who do not know of his plight. Julian is a publisher, and editor, a journalist and a hero.

7. The Ongoing Fight for Truth: Lack of Honest Journalists and Media

From the very beginning of time, there has been lies and cover ups. In recent years, the lies are often covered up by the government and it’s supporting media. Ten years ago, an organization was formed to expose these lies named Wikileaks and it has been a fight ever since. A fight by the organization itself against corruption and the governments who seek to silence it, a fight by supporters to stop the persecution and a fight by country’s official to stop it from publishing. What is the fight really about? Let me explain.

Your officials will probably tell you it’s about “classified” documents and intelligence being put out in the public that is dangerous. They will lie to cover their own lies and deceit from the public knowing the truth about what they really are involved in behind closed doors. Some may tell you it is about the disclosure of military intel and was illegal. Some may even argue it is about endangering soldiers. This is not true.

Wikileaks never endangered anyone with their publications. They exposed war crimes, criminality in goverment, violations of human rights, election fraud and governments influencing conflict. They disclosed how leaders have been overthrown by outside sources that should have never been involved in the first place. Wikileaks is anti-war and pro-human rights. They publish the truth. They open governments.

I think the last paragraph explains a lot why there is such hatred towards them by state authorities. No one who commits a crime wants it to be public knowledge. They fear it so they try to bring anyone down who might uncover the truth. Wikileaks has power because of this and they don’t like it. They have media tell lies and sell propaganda about this truthful organization. Currently, the US Congress has added a referendum calling Wikileaks a “nonstate hostile intelligence agency” in order to defame and destroy them.

Supporters and fans alike fight against this and small victories are occasionally won. Often times, followers are attacked on social media and occasionally spied on. Money donated to the organization has been held by the feds. False allegations and an attempt to extradite Julian Assange to the United States was attempted and failed. Currently, there is an ongoing to fight to free Mr. Assange from the Ecuadorian Embassy where he is currently detained due to the British government.

I would also like to add for those in doubt that the documents and publications released by Wikileaks are true, that not once in it’s ten years existence have they had to retract a story due to it being inaccurate. Not once have the officials who produced these documents and cables ever expressed that they were false. Only false accusations of where they have come from have come to the light.

Another fabrication by the top leaders is that Wikileaks has committed espionage and obtained these records from foreign entities such as Russia. In each case, allegations have been denied and often proven otherwise. The email leaks during the election of 2016 have been in the news since November. KimDotCom alleges that Seth Rich was the one who gave the DNC leaks to Wikileaks but that is yet to be proven as the government will not allow his evidence to be brought to light.

So the fight for Julian and Wikileaks wages on and allies of the organization continue to confront the propaganda and lies told about them. Lawyers for Wikileaks continue their legal battles and management continues to report the truth to the masses.

Without the likes of Julian Assange and organizations like Wikileaks, the future generations will be blind and unable to know the truth about their own governments.

So I will close with this…

As I gaze out my window at the cold winter’s evening, I stop feeling sorry for myself being so cold when I think of the terrible situation Julian Assange finds himself in. Just a man who wanted to see the world change by publishing documents proving corruption in the United States government, he has now been detained in the Ecuador Embassy in London for over 7 years without proper exercise, sunlight or fresh air. Each day, most of us wake up, get ready for work and hurry out the door, taking for granted the fresh air and sunlight we get each day. Perhaps, we should stop a minute on our way and be grateful for what we have instead of griping about another long day at the endless grind.

Would Julian Assange have created Wikileaks if he knew what he knows now? Yes, I believe he would. I believe he is a crusader, a warrior of words, who will always stand up for the underdogs of the world, exposing corruption through truth. Sometimes, a hero emerges from the crowd without even realizing he is about to become history. Not that Julian’s human rights fight started with Wikileaks in 2006. Julian has been crusading long before he even thought of the organization he created. He published his first non-fiction book at 25 and once helped Australian police to shut down an online pedophile ring by using his excellent computer skills and the list goes on.

I cannot imagine what it must be like for him, day in and day out, in that room, longing to be free. If he were guilty of anything, I would feel no sympathy but the fact is, he was set up that the United States government could extradite him. In fear of the extradition, Assange sought political refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy and so the long detainment began…

I don’t think anyone can imagine the depression and loneliness that the isolation must cause, let alone the lack of sunlight and the health issues his confinement are causing. My heart hurts and the tears fell as I read that once again, his legal attempts to be freed are thwarted by the UK government’s refusal to be humane and just. How any human being can see his conditions and refuse to let him go is beyond my simple comprehension. However, corruption runs deep in most governments today and when a country is in bed with the US it must be difficult to be fair and sympathetic.

Some have called for Assange to give up and come to the United States to be tried, but they do not understand the ramifications of this action. The Feds would torture him for information and then see to it that he disappeared off the face of the earth, literally. At this point, I cannot see the grand jury case being dropped or a pardon from Trump in his future and so those of us who long to see him free continue to fight.

How long can one man stand to be in isolation without it affecting who he is? Doctors who have studied situations similar to his have said that it changes the personality of the individual permanently. It causes depression, paranoia, and severe health issues. 7 years is a long time and I am sure, Assange is not the same man as when he walked through those doors in December of 2011. Christmases have passed without seeing his children or family, birthdays have gone by and still, he sits in front of his computers sharing the truth with us as though he is not being held like a bird in a cage.

Standing watch outside are Britain’s finest (ahem), police officers standing guard in case Julian steps outside to arrest him on a bail warrant that he most certainly has served more than enough time for. If he stepped outside now, would they arrest him or would he be shot? After all, The UK government has spent millions making sure he stays put. What are the chances the British government themselves wouldn’t dispose of this truth teller?

The United States government wants to prosecute him on charges of espionage and theft of government property. The fact is, however, that he simply published leaks just like the New York Times or the Washington Post. The only difference is that the documents Wikileaks released were true and accurate and showed the war crimes being committed by the US military in Iraq. In other words, it made them look bad so they feel the need to get vengeance. Like a child, those in high government positions are holding a grudge.

So what can we as individuals do to help this hero obtain freedom and help his cause? More than you might think. Here is a short list of things I have done that you can do to.

1. Educate people. Let people know of the injustice and inhumanity involved in his case.
2. Use social media. Retweet articles. Send false news to the Wikileaks Task Force. Retweet memes.
3. Write letters to heads of state in your country and others. Write letters to the governing bodies. Email them and also use snail mail. The more letters written the greater the impact.
4. Donate to his legal defense fund at I am Wikileaks official donation page even 5 dollars will help or whatever currency you have.
5. Thank Assange and let him know you are supporting his fight for freedom. Everyone needs to know that someone cares.

The whole situation has become a terrible atrocity. One man made a difference and now he is paying the ultimate price. Stand up and fight and free Assange!