Julian Assange has been gagged since March 28th of 2018 with no access to internet, phone or visitors. As though it is not bad enough that he has been detained illegally against two UN rulings without sunlight, fresh air, proper medical care or proper exercise since 2012, they have silenced him indefinitely, This is completely against his human rights and is considered torture under the UN Nelson Mandela Rules revised in 2017 as seen here link
“Rule 43
1. In no circumstances may restrictions or disciplinary sanctions amount to
torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The following
practices, in particular, shall be prohibited:
(a) Indefinite solitary confinement;
(b) Prolonged solitary confinement;”
“Rule 44
For the purpose of these rules, solitary confinement shall refer to the
confinement of prisoners for 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human
contact. Prolonged solitary confinement shall refer to solitary confinement for a
time period in excess of 15 consecutive days.
Rule 45
1. Solitary confinement shall be used only in exceptional cases as a last resort,
for as short a time as possible and subject to independent review, and only pursuant
to the authorization by a competent authority. It shall not be imposed by virtue of a
prisoner’s sentence.
2. The imposition of solitary confinement should be prohibited in the case of
prisoners with mental or physical disabilities when their conditions would be
exacerbated by such measures. The prohibition of the use of solitary confinement
and similar measures in cases involving women and children, as referred to in other
United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice, 28
continues to apply.”
Assange, not being a prisoner but a political refugee, should not even have to comprehend solitary confinement, but his access to the outside world has been removed nonetheless. Political Asylum should be protection, not punishment.
According to USLegal.com: US legal link
Political asylum refers to the protection given to political refugees from arrest by a foreign jurisdiction. A nation or embassy that affords such protection is also called asylum.
Note the word protection. Julian Assange sought asylum for protection from being arrested by the US government due to the threat of treason as seen here:
The US government is still seeking the extradition and arrest of Assange and he is still in danger of torture because Gina Haspel the current CIA head is known for her torture techniques in the past. in a Wikileaks tweet, her enjoyment in torture is exposed.
Julian has committed no crime. They accuse him of espionage simply because he published documents given to him by whistleblowers that exposed their war crimes, government criminal activity and the CIA spying on citizens. Because all three are illegal for a government to participate in, it seems they are seeking vengeance for Wikileaks exposing them.
6 years ago, the Ecuador government of President Correa gave Julian Assange the status of a political asylee and gave him refuge in the Ecuador Embassy in London. Under Lenin Moreno, his status is being threatened and according to anonymous sources will be revoked soon. On August 8th of this year according to telesurtv telesur link Moreno stated the following:
“The agreement has to be one that defends Mr. Assange’s life, human rights and international norms,” Moreno said.
“If we arrive at an agreement of that sort, we would be delighted to ask Mr. Assange to abandon the embassy and submit himself to the appropriate trial for not appearing before the British courts which is preferable to spending six years locked up in an embassy.”
However, he has in the past stated that extradition was okay if Assange’s life was not threatened. Either way the gagging of Assange is against his human rights and is a form of torture. (read my article How Solitary Confinement Effects the Mind: Plight of Julian Assange ) The fact is that his isolation must be removed soon or the damage done will be irreversible, making it hard for Julian Assange to come back into society the same person.
It appears that the reason for his gag order according to some is that the US State Dept coerced Ecuador into gagging Assange by threatening their trade agreement and offering them military support along their borders. As the US is now buying more of it’s oil from Ecuador, it appears to be true.
Lenin Moreno, according to the Guardian, (guardian article ):
“Let’s not forget the conditions of his asylum prevent him from speaking about politics or intervening in the politics of other countries. That’s why we cut his communication,”
However, there was never such an agreement made. Simply put, not only is Moreno guilty of torturing Julian, violating his human rights, going against international law by gagging him, but also infringing on his freedom of speech and yet, you hear nothing from countries who claim to support all this on this atrocity.
The silencing of Assange is setting a precedent against other independent journalists. Social Media has begun purging journalists who rely on it to make money and survive. By gagging Julian, Ecuador has made the oppression of Free Speech and Free Speech a norm. If Assange is extradited to the US and prosecuted, it will become a precedent for the prosecution of journalists worldwide who expose governments and believe in government transparency.
We, as human beings, cannot let this happen. If we allow the ill-treatment of one, it will affect all of us. Soon, free speech will be a thing of a past. Journalism will be nothing more than propaganda and a memory. Speaking your mind about things you disagree with will be a crime that is punishable. If we do nothing about it, future generations will suffer for our complacency. Can you live with that? I can’t.
What can we do about this? It’s simple. Make our voices heard through letters, phone calls, petitions and demonstrations. We need to make our leaders in the US, the UK, Ecuador and Assange’s home country of Australia, hear our outcry. We cannot stop until Julian Assange once again can feel the sun in his face, hold his children in his arms and kiss his dear mother’s cheek.
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Angel Fox Media 