Assange is innocent, says John Pilger

[Turborama]

Source: Australian Associated Press (AAP)

December 08 2010 | 04:21:03 AM

Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said he is an innocent man whose case has been warped by political interference.

Campaigning journalist John Pilger, film-maker Ken Loach and charity fundraiser Jemima Khan where among six people who offered a £180,000 ($A285,800) bail surety.

Speaking outside City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, Pilger said he was "disappointed" at the decision to remand Assange in custody.

He said: "Julian Assange is being denied justice. It is very simple. Not necessarily in this jurisdiction, but if it goes to Sweden he will enter a chaotic system. A system where the senior prosecutor discharged his case a long time ago, in fact declared it ridiculous. It was brought back after a political intervention. It is an outrageous case."

Read more: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1435776/latest-from-wire/

---

A quote from further on in the article which is well worth adding:

"..this is a man who has made some very serious enemies for the very best of reasons and done a job of extraordinary journalism which benefits all of us."

John Pilger has a new documentary coming out in Britain on Dec. 12th called "The War You Don't See" which features an interview with Julian Assange.
To see the trailer, go to: http://www.johnpilger.com/videos/the-war-you-dont-see-trailer

Excellent interview with Pilger recently on Australian radio: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x532672

[Catherina]

1. Pilger warned Julian they would smear him.

Of course he's innocent. Thank you John Pilger Rec'd

[Cetacea]

36. Pilger on propoganda journalism:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4258131083758254736#

[Blue_Tires]

2. that's the most shocking part that isn't being discussed

the lightning-quick speed, efficiency and precision that the goverment-corporate cabal used to make this happen, spanning a range of industries, legal systems and borders...I mean, has ANYONE ever seen things move this effortlessly for a trumped-up case?

The message sent to all journalists and web activists is clear: Rock the boat, and we will find you...

[madmax]

3. Imagine if they acted like this about truly heinous

criminal acts such as invading a country under false pretenses. Not so fast!

[Amonester]

7. Not only that: USING TORTURE to 'extract' FALSE CONFESSIONS

the fascists have won :cry:

[madmax]

10. Fasten your seat belt - it is going to be a very

bumpy ride. I feel sorry for those under 40. I won't be around to witness the carnage. At this point I'm sorry I reproduced, what a world they're being given.

[defendandprotect]

11. Or even torture ... or government wiretapping by W 6 months BEFORE 9/11...!!???

[madmax]

13. Hope the 'Lean Forward' crowd brings these points up

tonight. They'll probably go with the Obama threw us under the bus.

[Downwinder]

4. My question is:

Why are they trying to force full release of the Insurance file?

[Kaleko]

5. Death rattles of a collapsing system. The truth can't be stopped from coming out anymore.

[defendandprotect]

12. Oh, how I hope you are right .... collapse of the national security state, that is!!

[Kaleko]

17. The information war has begun in earnest with WikiLeaks. And the truth will win.

It always does in the long run. I believe that right now we are experiencing a watershed moment. Look at the mobilization of millions of netizens who can no longer be fooled.

[defendandprotect]

21. One of the things that concerns me ....

and I have no idea if it is possible at all --

but the US/CIA releasing something under the WikiLeaks cover which

would do obvious harm to US -- and framing it as something done by WikiLeaks/Assange????

[Kaleko]

22. They're likely working on it as we speak.

Discernment - the constant honing and fine tuning of our bullshit detectors - is a survival skill we all need in the information age.

[molly77]

39. Kaleko...I agree. Very exciting.

[sofa king]

14. It only looks like it's a cabal job.

From the inside, it's a CIA job all the way, with the CIA providing virtually everything from the false charges to the "victim" herself (she's a CIA employee, or at least has a relationship with them). All planning and most of the execution probably took place from within one mid-level dungeon office somewhere inside the Beltway.

The beauty of the sexual assault charge is that left unresolved it simply "hangs" above the person charged and never goes away. The person in question is highly motivated to come in simply to wave away the charges.

Then, once they have him in custody, they'll find a way to knock him off without getting blood on their own hands. My prediction is a two-to-the-head "suicide" within 72 hours of his temporary release.

[EFerrari]

20. That's a distinction without a difference and maybe, without a distinction

when you come right down to it.

[EFerrari]

19. Exactly. Why isn't everyone protesting this?

It was all extra legal. Interpol for a broken condom? It's like an Onion piece. Lieberman calling for an apprehension when there's no US charge? Mitch McConnell calling him a terrorist?

[Boudica the Lyoness]

25. I think people like us are too stunned

at the weirdness of these charges and don't think they will hold up. I think if anything bad happens to Julian then people will spring into action on a grand scale.

I hate the picture that they are trying to paint of him here in the US; rapist, hacker, international fugitive etc. They have many thinking it is true and that is their goal.

I'm sick and tired of the 'powers that be' using the worlds populations for their greedy games! I have a son in the military and I feel like he is being used, like they all are.

[molly77]

37. Australia was looking for a reason to arrest him

That doesn't seem quite fair. If you have to look..there is no there there.

[EFerrari]

41. Probably under pressure from Big Brother.

What an ugly business.

[Eyerish]

6. K&R

[Uncle Joe]

8. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Turborama.

[defendandprotect]

9. Where is Australia to protect Assange -- dangerous for him to be held in prison...

reminder of all the convenient "suicides" the left has suffered --

[glinda]

16. uh... Australia... Murdoch... censorship and world take over....hmmmmmmmm

makes one wonder with his arrest and most likely silencing.....
I hope that somehow people fight hard for his release and safety.

[kgnu_fan]

15. kick

[EFerrari]

18. John Pilger knows what it's like to be censored.

It's so good to see him jump into the action.

[Turborama]

26. Does he get any media attention at all in the States?

Outside of Democracy Now!, that is.

:hi:

[EFerrari]

28. Not at all. They disappeared him.

No one knows who he is. It's very sad, really.

[Turborama]

31. That's what I thought

Judging by the reactions I've seen here it seems like more of his work needs to be posted to raise awareness about this legendary reporter.

I hope his new documentary goes online soon so it can go viral: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x532667

Also, in case you missed it, he recently did a really good interview on Australian radio which I posted here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x532672

[EFerrari]

32. Thank you. I listened to that interview once

but maybe I'll listen again. He was very good and didn't let himself be turned around at all. lol

[madmax]

30. He has a good website

I hadn't heard of him before, found this through my friend - Google. ;)

http://www.johnpilger.com/

[EFerrari]

38. Yes! His website has a lot of his work right on it!

Very generous. :)

[Turborama]

23. .

Post move :kick:

[Turborama]

24. Sky News reports on what he told City of Westminster Magistrates' Court...

Mr Pilger, who offered £20,000, said he had a "very high regard" for Assange as a journalist and personal friend.

He told City of Westminster Magistrates' Court: "I am here today because the charges against him in Sweden are absurd and were judged as absurd by the chief prosecutor there when she threw the whole thing out until a senior political figure intervened."

From: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Article/201009115849036

[Yupster]

27. Innocent? I'm still trying to figure out what he's being charged with

From what I can tell he's being charged with having consensual sex without a condom.

Is that illegal now?If the woman wanted a condom and he said no, she should have said no to sex.

Am I missing something here?

[TorchTheWitch]

34. yes, you're missing a lot

The charges stem from consensual sex with stipulations that became non-consensual. In the case of both women one of the stipulations was that a condom be used (and that may have been the only stipulation in one or both cases).

This is what was reported during the court hearing in Westiminster as to the reasons for each specific sex charge allegation...

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Article/201009115849036
Gemma Lindfield, for the Swedish authorities, told the London court the first complainant, Miss A, said she was victim of "unlawful coercion" on the night of August 14 in Stockholm.

The court heard Assange is accused of using his body weight to hold her down in a sexual manner.

The second charge alleged Assange "sexually molested" Miss A by having sex with her without a condom when it was her "express wish" one should be used.

The third charge claimed Assange "deliberately molested" Miss A on August 18 "in a way designed to violate her sexual integrity".

The fourth charge accused Assange of having sex with a second woman, Miss W, on August 17 without a condom while she was asleep at her Stockholm home.


You can believe the allegations are true or not. But can we please now stop the claims that in the case of both women that sex was consensual from beginning to end and that Sweden has some crazy law that makes sex without a condom a rape offense?

[Luminous Animal]

35. Given that they both publicly bragged about fucking him, I have no problem disbelieving the charges.

[EFerrari]

40. It begins to look more and more like the non-consensual sex for Ardin

was the sex he was having with the other woman because she seemed okay with it at the time. And, she went in and tried to hide her tweets about it.

[Turborama]

42. Sky News are reporting them as "Miss A" & "Miss W", as can be seen above

As if their names haven't been in the public domain for several months now.

And what was until just an hour or so ago front page news on their website has now been buried so deep I can't even find where it is...

http://news.sky.com/skynews/


(edited to add missing word, not getting much sleep these days due to this continually developing story, lol)

[EFerrari]

44. I'm waiting to see how the media behaves now that Julian is limited

in how he can respond to their shenanigans. Scott Shane, a reporter at NYT who used to be decent but got balled up mid way through some great Ivins coverage, intimated in his last article that the newspapers were losing interest in cablegate.

[Yupster]

43. Thanks for info

Charge # 1 would certainly be a crime if proven.

Charge # 2 I don't get. If she wanted a condom and he didn't use one, she should have said no.

Charge # 3 is worded oddly. I'd have to hear details.

Charge # 4 would for sure be illegal if proven true.

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[laughingliberal]

33. K & R nt

[Turborama]

45. Assange ‘sees the black side of it’, says Pilger

By Eliot Sefton
LAST UPDATED 11:16 AM, DECEMBER 8, 2010

The Australian journalist and documentary-maker John Pilger claimed the treatment of his compatriot Julian Assange was "outrageous" when the WikiLeaks editor was refused bail in London yesterday after being served with a Swedish extradition warrant.

"Having his freedom taken away is outrageous,” Pilger, who is based in London, told reporters outside the court. “Sweden should be ashamed. This is not justice – this is outrageous."

Pilger managed to speak with Assange briefly after the court hearing. Interviewed by an Australian radio journalist, he said he was sure Assange was “full of trepidation” but added: “He has quite a dry wit, he saw the black side of it."

=snip=

Meanwhile, it is reported that another high-profile London-based Australian, the Sydney-born human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC, has agreed to act for Assange in future extradition hearings.

Full article: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/72535,people,news,assange-sees-the-black-side-of-it-says-pilger-

[Kaleko]

46. Thanks for finding and posting all these news bits on DU, Turborama.

:thumbsup: