Nils Melzer’s Article: Demasking The Torture of Julian Assange

With permission this article is being reposted on my blog. Special thanks to Nils Melzer.

Demasking the Torture of Julian Assange

Nils Melzer

Jun 26 · 5 min read

By Nils Melzer, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

On the occasion of the International Day in Support of Torture Victims, 26 June 2019

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I know, you may think I am deluded. How could life in an Embassy with a cat and a skateboard ever amount to torture? That’s exactly what I thought, too, when Assange first appealed to my office for protection. Like most of the public, I had been subconsciously poisoned by the relentless smear campaign, which had been disseminated over the years. So it took a second knock on my door to get my reluctant attention. But once I looked into the facts of this case, what I found filled me with repulsion and disbelief.

Surely, I thought, Assange must be a rapist! But what I found is that he has never been charged with a sexual offence. True, soon after the US had encouraged allies to find reasons to prosecute Assange, two women made the headlines in Sweden. One of them claimed he had ripped a condom, and the other that he had failed to wear one, in both cases during consensual intercourse — not exactly scenarios that have the ring of ‘rape’ in any language other than Swedish. Mind you, each woman even submitted a condom as evidence. The first one, supposedly worn and torn by Assange, revealed no DNA whatsoever — neither his, nor hers, nor anybody else’s. Go figure. The second one, used but intact, supposedly proved ‘unprotected’ intercourse. Go figure, again. The women even texted that they never intended to report a crime but were ‘railroaded’ into doing so by zealous Swedish police. Go figure, once more. Ever since, both Sweden and Britain have done everything to prevent Assange from confronting these allegations without simultaneously having to expose himself to US extradition and, thus, to a show-trial followed by life in jail. His last refuge had been the Ecuadorian Embassy.

Alright, I thought, but surely Assange must be a hacker! But what I found is that all his disclosures had been freely leaked to him, and that no one accuses him of having hacked a single computer. In fact, the only arguable hacking-charge against him relates to his alleged unsuccessful attempt to help breaking a password which, had it been successful, might have helped his source to cover her tracks. In short: a rather isolated, speculative, and inconsequential chain of events; a bit like trying to prosecute a driver who unsuccessfully attempted to exceed the speed-limit, but failed because their car was too weak.

Professor Nils Melzer

Well then, I thought, at least we know for sure that Assange is a Russian spy, has interfered with US elections, and negligently caused people’s deaths! But all I found is that he consistently published true information of inherent public interest without any breach of trust, duty or allegiance. Yes, he exposed war crimes, corruption and abuse, but let’s not confuse national security with governmental impunity. Yes, the facts he disclosed empowered US voters to take more informed decisions, but isn’t that simply democracy? Yes, there are ethical discussions to be had regarding the legitimacy of unredacted disclosures. But if actual harm had really been caused, how come neither Assange nor Wikileaks ever faced related criminal charges or civil lawsuits for just compensation?

But surely, I found myself pleading, Assange must be a selfish narcissist, skateboarding through the Ecuadorian Embassy and smearing feces on the walls? Well, all I heard from Embassy staff is that the inevitable inconveniences of his accommodation at their offices were handled with mutual respect and consideration. This changed only after the election of President Moreno, when they were suddenly instructed to find smears against Assange and, when they didn’t, they were soon replaced. The President even took it upon himself to bless the world with his gossip, and to personally strip Assange of his asylum and citizenship without any due process of law.

In the end it finally dawned on me that I had been blinded by propaganda, and that Assange had been systematically slandered to divert attention from the crimes he exposed. Once he had been dehumanized through isolation, ridicule and shame, just like the witches we used to burn at the stake, it was easy to deprive him of his most fundamental rights without provoking public outrage worldwide. And thus, a legal precedent is being set, through the backdoor of our own complacency, which in the future can and will be applied just as well to disclosures by The Guardian, the New York Times and ABC News.

Very well, you may say, but what does slander have to do with torture? Well, this is a slippery slope. What may look like mere «mudslinging» in public debate, quickly becomes “mobbing” when used against the defenseless, and even “persecution” once the State is involved. Now just add purposefulness and severe suffering, and what you get is full-fledged psychological torture.

Yes, living in an Embassy with a cat and a skateboard may seem like a sweet deal when you believe the rest of the lies. But when no one remembers the reason for the hate you endure, when no one even wants to hear the truth, when neither the courts nor the media hold the powerful to account, then your refuge really is but a rubber boat in a shark-pool, and neither your cat nor your skateboard will save your life.

Even so, you may say, why spend so much breath on Assange, when countless others are tortured worldwide? Because this is not only about protecting Assange, but about preventing a precedent likely to seal the fate of Western democracy. For once telling the truth has become a crime, while the powerful enjoy impunity, it will be too late to correct the course. We will have surrendered our voice to censorship and our fate to unrestrained tyranny.

This Op-Ed has been offered for publication to the Guardian, The Times, the Financial Times, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian, the Canberra Times, the Telegraph, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Thomson Reuters Foundation, and Newsweek.

None responded positively.

The Laws Surrounding Assange Being Broken Currently

There are so many laws broken by both the U.K. and the U.S. in this case, it is hard to list them all. Some include invasion of privacy, human rights violations, coercement of foreign governments, persecution, slander and libel. That only names a few.

In a tweet from @NilsMelzer, he mentions the following:

The UNCAT he mentions is the United Nations Convention Against torture. The article he refers to saus the following:

Article 3

1. No State Party shall expel, return (“refouler”) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.

2. For the purpose of determining whether there are such grounds, the competent authorities shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where applicable, the existence in the State concerned of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights.

In an article seen here:

By ratifying CAT in 1988, the UK agrees to prevent acts of torture in connection with activities that include:

• returning, expelling or extraditing someone to another country where there are real grounds to believe he or she will face torture
• arrest, detention and imprisonment
• interrogation
• the training of police (civil or military), medical staff, public officials and anyone else who may be involved in the arrest, detention and questioning of a person

After reading up on this issue, Assange currently being incarcerated for breaching bail because he sought asylum is illegal. It is very definitely true he will be tortured in the U.S. not just because of the Stanfor emails (seen below) but because of what they did to Manning. Chelsea was subjected to solitary confinement and psychological torture, including but not limited to, being paraded around in front of troops naked.

The U.K. ruling in favor of extradition would also violate international law as well as it’s own. The U.K. Home Secretary Sajid Javid is satisfied that Assange will neither face the death penalty or torture by signing the extradition warrant placed before him by the United States.

There is also the fact that the extradition of Assange is politically motivated and is dealing with military issues. There are many issues the U.K. needs to take into consideration if Julian is to receive a just decision. For instance:

• His mental and physical well being. Is Julian even healthy enough to face extradition.
• Passage of time: where so much time has passed since the supposed offense occurred
• Extraneous issues: politically motivated. The U.S. has an ulterior motive
• Human rights issues: not just torture
• Free Speech and Free Press: The arrest and extradition of Assange will set a precedent that will destroy these rights permanently. It will change Western society forever.

Su5mply by brutally arresting Assange, detaining him for 9 years and not allowing him sunlight, fresh air or proper medical care, the U.K. has already breached the ratification of the UNCAT laws. They may as well have never passed it into law at all if their judicial system will not abide by it.

The fact that the U.K. is abiding by the U.S.’s requests at all shows their inability to justly decide Assange’s fate. Everything indicates their will be a farce of a court case stateside. He will be handed over, silenced permanently and we will never know what really happened to him.

The simple reality is that the U.S. and U.K. intend to let Assange rot slowly in prison as his life goes by and his health deteriorates even further. Every day a new law seems to be broken in this case, setting a standard neither country can recover from.

There is no justice for Assange.

The Iranian Passenger Plane The U.S. Shot Down the Media Doesn’t Talk About

Do you remember Iran Air Flight 655 being shot down by the U.S.? Probably not. That’s because the U.S. tried to cover it up and hide it. MSM certainly doesn’t talk about it. However, if you talked to an Iranian, they remember.

On July 3rd, 1988, U.S. Navy Captain Will Rogers III thought the airbus was a F-14 fighter jet and shot it down, resulting in the 7th deadliest air disaster. 266 people were killed, including 66 children. Simply because a Navy captain made a mistake.

The media doesn’t talk about it. According to slate.com:

After the 1988 incident, American officials told various lies and blamed the Iranian pilot. Not until eight years later did the U.S. government compensate the victims’ families, and even then expressed “deep regret,” not an apology.

Here’s the truly dismaying part of the story. On Aug. 19, 1988, nearly seven weeks after the event, the Pentagon issued a 53-page report on the incident. Though the text didn’t say so directly, it found that nearly all the initial details about the shoot-down—the “facts” that senior officials cited to put all the blame on Iran Air’s pilot—were wrong. And yet the August report still concluded that the captain and all the other Vincennes officers acted properly.

Just remember though, we are supposed to believe all the lies being told by the U.S. government so they can start another tax payer-funded war with Iran. Also the story that Venezuela is in a humanitarian crisis due to it’s leadership not the U.S. sanctions put in place to starve their citizens.

I don’t know about you but I think it’s time we hold our dishonest government accountable. End the lies. Love not war.

A Comprehensive Explanation of The Psychological Torture of Julian Assange

We now know through Nils Melzer, the U.N. specialist on torture that Julian Assange has all the symptoms of someone who has been psychologically tortured over a period of time. We know that Melzer is also calling for Assange’s freedom and that he is not extradited to the U.S. where he will most likely be treated unfairly and his human rights will be violated even worse than they already have been. During his time at the Ecuadorian Embassy and even before, the United States government with the help of Sweden, Ecuador, and the U.K. tortured Assange in different ways.  Let me explain.

1. He was arbitrally detained for 7 years against 2 U.N. rulings calling for his release. He did without sunlight, fresh air, proper exercise, and proper medical care while he was a refugee in the embassy.  Due to this, his health began to fail.  He now has bone deterioration, a constant cough, tooth pain for a chipped tooth from his previous stay in a U.K. prison that needed a root canal 7 years ago.  He has since suffered tooth infections.
2. His last year in the Embassy, he was unjustly silenced and put in solitary confinement without access to a phone, the internet or visitors for over 8 months.  During this time, Ecuador did everything they could to make his life miserable.  If the embassy staff did not try to find ways to evict him, they were fired. They took his shaving kit away in order to hurt his self-image even.  He was forced to give up his cat in fear that they would send it to a kill shelter.
3. The media’s attacks were literally another form of psychological warfare used on Assange called “mobbing”.  Definition of mobbing:  crowd around (someone) in an unruly and excitable way in order to admire or attack them. Mobbing, as a sociological term, means bullying of an individual by a group. If you have ever been ganged up on by a group of people and talked about and attacked by them, you know what it’s like to be mobbed.
4. Sensory Deprivation:  Julian Assange mostly lived in a small office space.  He was quoted as saying to his doctors that he knew that room as well as he knew the inside of his eyelids.
5. Threats:  Many people including a lot of politicians called for his death and torture.  An example is seen below in the Stratfor email detailing how the U.S. wants to torture him.

Here is a video with the many death threats made about Assange: Assange death threats

By constantly surrounding the embassy with police officers they played on Assange’s fear which caused sleep deprivation on his part as he worried they would take him during the night by force.  This also played on his paranoia.  He often feared he would be poisoned.  The U.S. and U.K. played with the man’s mind.  Over an over, they have cast him as the evil villain in order to destroy people’s opinion.

According to Nils Melzer’s article Demasking the Torture of Assange:

“In the end it finally dawned on me that I had been blinded by propaganda and that Assange had been systematically slandered to divert attention from the crimes he exposed. Once he had been dehumanized through isolation, ridicule, and shame, just like the witches we used to burn at the stake, it was easy to deprive him of his most fundamental rights without provoking public outrage worldwide.”

Long-term psychological effects include difficulty concentrating, nightmares, insomnia, memory loss, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. According to the PBS article seen here:

What happens in the brain? Clues come from studies of things like memory formation and stress — not torture — in animals. For example, repeated moderately stressful experiences, such as restraining a rat’s movements over a period of time, can physically alter structures that control fear and anxiety, said neuroscientist Bruce McEwen of Rockefeller University.

In fact, enough stress and trauma can damage memory systems, he added. Reflecting on news accounts of the torture, he said “it’s sort of counterproductive” when trying to get people to remember things. Physical torture can affect the brain, too. But by itself, “psychological torture undermines the very ability to think, and it doesn’t leave any marks,” said psychologist Steven Reisner. The concept of learned helplessness stemmed from experiments in the late 1960s that influenced depression research: Dogs were given mild jolts of electricity that they couldn’t avoid. Then they were put in a divided box where they could escape more zaps by jumping to the other side, but they didn’t try. They’d been conditioned to accept their fate.

By using psychological warfare against Assange, they may have damaged him mentally for life.  Further incarceration and rights violations will only make things worse for the intellectual genius.  Nils Melzer also stated the following:

“Collective persecution of Julian#Assange must end now. My most urgent concern is that, in the United States, Mr. Assange would be exposed to a real risk of serious violations of his human rights.”

If the persecution and prosecution of Assange is allowed this will set a precedent for other journalists worldwide to be handled the same way.  It will change the western world forever.  It will also change an individual’s human rights and the U.N.’s ability to protect them.  We must stand together and fight this atrocity!

Assange and the MAGA People Who Are Calling For His Extradition

Anyone who has a heart knows that extraditing Julian Assange to the U.S. will only result in his dying in prison. Those who call out for him to be brought to the U.S. so he can “testify”aren’t thinking at all. They are not taking into consideration it was the Trump administration who had him silenced and then kicked out of the embassy which resulted in his arrest.Have you MAGA people asked yourself why his administration really did this?

If Trump truly wanted his knowledge or access to the supposed files you conclude he has, Trump could have easily offered him immunity when Rand Paul suggested it. Remember, he was only silenced right before his testimony in the Cambridge Analytics case. What was he going to expose that he was so quickly silenced?

According to the New York Times, (article seen here):

Our report that a political firm hired by the Trump campaign acquired access to private data on millions of Facebook users has sparked new questions about how the social media giant protects user information.

Who collected all that data?

Cambridge Analytica, a political data firm hired by President Trump’s 2016 election campaign, gained access to private information on more than 50 million Facebook users. The firm offered tools that could identify the personalities of American voters and influence their behavior.

Cambridge has been largely funded by Robert Mercer, the wealthy Republican donor, and Stephen K. Bannon, a former adviser to the president who became an early board member and gave the firm its name. It has pitched its services to potential clients ranging from Mastercard and the New York Yankees to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

So, what would Julian have revealed? Why is the Trump administration so hot to try him? I don’t think it has anything to do with the destruction of the DNC or data that Assange has on Seth Rich either. I dont think Assange has any provable info on who killed Seth.

If the DNC could be destroyed, don’t you think the proof that they cheated Bernie Sanders out of the primary would have done it? Did you ever stop to think that Wikileaks is not biased but about truth and justice? That maybe, just maybe, Assange may have something on either party or Trump?

Maybe, Assange has nothing. He’s not a god who can just say, “Give me the files” and “wa la” they are in his hands. Wikileaks relies on whistleblowers to provide them with their documents. Then they have to be verified. Do you think Julian is like a computer and can store huge amounts of data in his head?

If Assange is extradited, in all likelihood, he will be tortured and given life in prison. He will be silenced forever. It is the Pentagon who wants to destroy him as well, for exposing their crimes.

The Pentagon is kind of like the brain of the U.S.war machine. When Julian released the Afghan Files and Cablegate, it’s like he put sugar in that machine’s gas tank. He did no harm to any person, he simply published documents in the public interest that made the war machine stall. That war machine is angry and wants vengeance.

Julian is not a criminal. He is a gentle, compassionate intellectual who cannot last long in a violent prison. His psychological state has already been affected as well as his physical health. By the time, the extradition process is done in the U.K., Trump will not even be office, even if he is reelected for a second term. By that time, Julian will be in a much worse state then he is now. We can’t let thus man be destroyed by the establishment that wants his annihilation. We cannot let the elite take away our rights or our freedom. We must free Assange!!!

Julian Assange: Prolonged effects of Psychological Torture

“Mr. Assange shows all the symptoms of a person who has been exposed to psychological torture for a prolonged period of time” – @NilsMelzer, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture; Human Rights Chair, Geneva Academy; Professor of International Law, University of Glasgow

For the last 10 years of Julian Assange’s life, he has been pursued, psychologiccally tortured and treated like an animal by the U.S. and U.K. government. In the last year, Ecuador made the torture much worse through their efforts to remove him from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Julian Assange has undergone prolonged psychological torture causing him to exhibit the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We should not be at all surprised that war criminals would use their torture expertise against the one who exposed them.

It is common for those who are exposed to prolonged torture to exhibit the following symptoms:
trauma, anxiety, depression, and immunocompromising stress.

According to the ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America):

• Re-experiencing the trauma through intrusive distressing recollections of the event, flashbacks, and nightmares.
• Emotional numbness and avoidance of places, people, and activities that are reminders of the trauma.
• Increased arousal such as difficulty sleeping and concentrating, feeling jumpy, and being easily irritated and angered.

Julian Assange has experienced the loss of his freedom, threats to his life and well-being and 7 years arbitrary detainment and isolation due to the injustice of the U.S.and U.K. governments. He has suffered immensely, not only psychologically but physically due to his confinement without sunlight, fresh air, proper exercise and proper medical care. He has been persecuted beyond the point where most people would break.

Assange only wanted justice for those who were needlessly murdered, tortured and violated due to war crimes committed by military operatives. He was sickened by the agony of the innocent. He hated the injustices being committed as would anyone who saw what was being done.

How can anyone with a heart and soul stand by and watch as this just, innocent man is torn apart and slowly martyred? How can anyone want him extradited to the U.S. where the Pentagon wants his death? Nothing will be revealed in the kangaroo trial that will take place in the U.S. except more injustice.

By torturing and persecuring Assange, the U.S. government has revealed it’s true intention to destroy our rights and it’s lack of justice in regards to the individual.

Julian Assange Will Go Down in History As the Greatest Truthteller of our Time

Throughout history there have been many who fought for truth and were mercilessly destroyed. Jesus. The prophets. William Wallace. MLK and more. They all died for no reason. Many stood complacent and passive as these men gave up their freedom and lives for truth.

The greatest journalist and genius of our time is slowly being martyred before our eyes. Yet, many insist on sitting back and doing nothing. They insist on repeating history over and over. Folks, this is wrong!

Quote from Julian Assange:

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.

If we have brains or courage, then we are blessed and called on not to frit these qualities away, standing agape at the ideas of others, winning pissing contests, improving the efficiencies of the neocorporate state, or immersing ourselves in obscuranta, but rather to prove the vigor of our talents against the strongest opponents of love we can find.

If we can only live once, then let it be a daring adventure that draws on all our powers. Let it be with similar types whos hearts and heads we may be proud of. Let our grandchildren delight to find the start of our stories in their ears but the endings all around in their wandering eyes.
The whole universe or the structure that perceives it is a worthy opponent, but try as I may I can not escape the sound of suffering.

Perhaps as an old man I will take great comfort in pottering around in a lab and gently talking to students in the summer evening and will accept suffering with insouciance. But not now; men in their prime, if they have convictions are tasked to act on them.
Julian Assange

In fact, if you can watch the suffering and torment of Assange and not feel the agony he has endured, I have to question if you truly have a soul. Assange has endured years of psychological torture, untreated health issues and now faces life in prison and perhaps more torture at the hands of the U.S. government. Why? Because he stood up and showed the world the injustice he could bare no more. He is an example of what we should be doing.

We are the generation that can say “No More!!!” Fight for our truth teller! Fight for Assange! Fight so that we do not repeat history and allow the martyrdom of our greatest truthteller! We can change history! Together we can FREE ASSANGE!

#FreeAssange

37 European MEPs Call on Britain To Halt the Extradition of Assange

According to the Wikileaks tweet seen below:

“37 MEPs call on the European Commission to prevent the extradition of Assange to the US: “his detention constitutes not only an attack on the right to information, which is a fundamental pillar of democracy, but also contravenes both international and European legislation.”

The letter also urges the Commission’s Vice President to support Assange’s human rights

A word for Judge Emma Arbuthnot

Your honor,

It has come to my attention that you refuse to recuse yourself in the extradition case of Julian Assange. Ma’am, how can anyone in the U.K. expect to receive justice in your court room if there is a conflict of interest in this case? By not recusing yourself, you make a farce out of the British judicial systems. As you have seen your statement that his fear of being extradited is a reality and your statement made in January of 2018 is false.

Also,

Your honor, in regards to Julian Assange I would like to make a statement in support of him. I know that you recently stated that Judge Michael Snow thought he was narcissistic and he thought he only had his own self interests in mind. I do not agree.

Julian Assange wanted to make a difference in this world. Unlike most of us, he had the opportuniy, the skills and the intelligence to do so. He saw a world full of corruption and deceit and he chose to expose it. Not for his own gain but because he sought to protect the innocent who were being maimed and destroyed by this corruption. He could have chosen the easy way out and never published anything or been like the rest of the media and only published bits and pieces that wouldn’t have gotten him into hot water. He didn’t. He chose their lives over his own.

He knew once he began publishing “Collateral Murder” the Afghan War Logs and the Iraq war crimes his life would be in danger. He had a choice. A very hard choice, his life or possibly save others. He chose to attempt to save lives and educate the public.

Julian Assange sought asylum ma’am, because he was terrified once he learned what had happened to Chelsea Manning while incarcerated and then others who were extradited by the U.S. government. He spent 7 years in a couple of rooms no bigger than a small office and suffered terribly including the last year of torture rather than being extradited to the U.S. where he knew he would face worse. He dealt with dental infections and torment from a bad tooth rather than face extradition. If you’ve ever had a toothache or an infection from a bad tooth you know how horrible it can be. To suffer with it out of terror shows you just how scared Assange really was.

I dont think Julian ever meant to cause any harm by taking asylum. I believe the fear he felt was so immense it honestly affected his ability to think properly. To know, by being extradited you face a future of torture as seen in the Stratfor emails and the examples shown, must have left him feeling he had no choice. His life was in danger and the thought of being tortured would affect anyone’s ability to think straight.

Julian Assange is a journalist ma”am. He published truths because he cared. He published truths that were necessary for the public interest and justice for those innocents who died. If he is extradited, he will most likely face the death penalty.

According to British law he cannot be extradited if he faces death or the possibilty of bodily harm or psychological torture. We both know that once he is in U.S. custody, the secret grand jury indictments have been released and he will be charged under the Espionage Act.

Ma’am, in my opinion, Julian Assange is a hero and the world cannot stand to lose an award winning, nobel peace prize nominee journalist and genius like him. If he is extradited, his very blood will be on the United Kingdom’s hands. Please release him after he serves his time and allow him to go elsewhere where he could receive asylum whereever he chooses to go.

His health is deteriorating very quicky in Belmarsh as well He is currently being treated worse than a Class convict for simple bail charge. He is isolated, losing weight and may very well be dying. He needs to be released immediately. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Address to email or snail mail Emna Arbuthnot:

1. 181 Marylebone Road

London
NW1 5BR
DX 120551, Marylebone 9

Office global email addresses:

Judicial Deployment – gl-cmo.ddjdeployment@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk

Assanges Afflictions

It’s terribly saddening to think about what Julian Assange has went through, is going through and what is yet to come. It would be different if he was guilty of any of the accusations but he’s not. He’s innocent and his treatment is atrocious.

I cannot even begin to imagine the loneliness or the feeling of being deserted he must feel. Like a genie stuck in a bottle, he spent nearly 7 years isolated, tortured and threatened in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Many of his friends betrayed him, the media attacked him ferociously and he was being maliciously abused by the U.S., the U.K., Sweden and then finally, Ecuador.

Julian is a strong, courageous man but everyone has a breaking point. A point where the constant bullying and abuse starts to affect them psychologically. It begins to erode away at one’s confidence, a person’s feelings of security and eventually causes severe depression. Viewing videos and pictures of Assange before he entered his stay at the Embassy, you see a very happy, go lucky person, a man who is on top of the world. Pictures now show a man bent, fixable but starting to feel it.

I am grief stricken every time I watch recent videos of his arrest and incarceration. He doesn’t look defeated yet, but he looks exhausted, depressed and nervous. What they have done to him is inconsolable. They can never give him back in reparations what they have taken from him and they continue to try to destroy him.

Julian Assange is a human being with feelings, a heart and a soul. He is caring and gentle. He fought for justice for the innocent who were tortured and butchered by war criminals and as a reward for having the courage and strength to expose them, he has been tormented, threatened and sold. What kind of world are we living in when the criminals walk free peacefully and the journalist who exposed them sits behind bars? There is no justice in his incarceration, only the purest evil has put him there.

His suffering is what pushes me so hard to fight. It keeps me awake brainstorming for ideas to free him. His arrest hurt me as much as losing a family member. Knowing the depression and the gut wrenching fear he must feel, drives me to write even after a 10 hour day in a hot factory. His courage, strength and love pushes me to want to change things. He is an inspiration and he should also be a reminder that if we do not fight to change our world, we may suffer the same fate. We must free Assange to free ourselves of the tyranny his persecution represents.