New Grand Jury Started Regarding Assange

Although Chelsea Manning was released today from jail, she was already subpoenaed to appear before a new grand jury May 16th. The new grand jury is looking to add charges to the one they announced shortly after Assange’s arrest on April 11th of attempting to hack. It is apparent that the U.S. government wants to charge him under the Espionage Act which can end in the death penalty. The U.S. government seems intent on martyring a publisher to set a precedent to scare other journalists.

Under U.K. law, a person cannot be extradited if they could face death or bodily harm. However, so far, the U.K. has shown no respect for it’s own law in this case. They have given Assange 50 weeks for breach of bail and placed him in a maximum security prison known as Britain’s Gitmo under solitary confinement. He is forced to spend 23 hours of the day locked in his cell with only a half hour outdoors if weather permits.

We must hold our governments accountable for the human rights violations in this case. We cannot allow whistleblowers to be silenced and press freedom to be attacked as though we are living in China or the Middle East. If we allow them to set this precedent, we may never get those rights back.

You may not like Manning or Assange but what is happening to them is much bigger than those two. This is a fight for life and death in more ways than one. This is a fight to save Lady Justice and our rights as a free people. This is about a fight for future generations and to preserve our laws. It is about fair trials and unbiased judges. It is about everyone of us! We are all Manning and Assange!