The EU should do more to protect Julian Assange, his wife, lawyer and human rights defender Stella Assange told EURACTIV in an exclusive video interview at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday (13 December).
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is currently in London’s Belmarsh prison pending an appeal against his extradition to the US.
“The US needs to hear from its allies that this is intolerable, that it affects EU values and interests because it is the US reaching beyond its borders, claiming jurisdiction into the European space in order to limit press freedoms and the public’s right to the truth by criminalising journalism,” Stella Assange said.
Julian Assange was among the finalists for the Sakharov prize, an EU award dedicated to individuals, groups or organisations that contribute to protecting freedom of thought.
Every year since 1988, the European Parliament assign the prize during the autumn, hosting winners and finalists at a ceremony in Strasbourg during the December plenary session.
Julian Assange’s candidature was proposed by MEPs of the Italian 5 Stars Movement.
This year the prize was won by the people of Ukraine, “represented by their president, elected leaders, and civil society”.
Ukrainian people win EU Parliament's Sakharov prize
The people of Ukraine, represented by their president, elected leaders, and civil society, won the 2022 Sakharov prize, an annual award the European Parliament gives to organisations and individuals that defend freedom of thought and human rights.
Stella Assange attends the Sakharov Prize ceremony on Wednesday (14 December) on behalf of her husband.
“Countries need to stand up for their fundamental values and should not tolerate outrageous extradition requests, like the one against Julian,” Stella Assange told EURACTIV.
“Julian should not have spent a single day in prison,” she said.
“He is being prosecuted for the very same activities that have made him a finalist for the Sakharov Prize.”
“What he exposed was war crimes, civilian killings, torture, rendition, and so on it exposed crimes committed by the US government and its agents,” she said.
If extradited to the US, the WikiLeaks founder faces a potential 175-year sentence for publishing confidential documents detailing human rights violations during the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He is wanted by the US authorities on 18 counts, including espionage, relating to WikiLeaks’ release of vast troves of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables, which Washington said had put lives in danger.
[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]
Source: euractiv.com
