“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.”
--- Julian Assange
"It is sufficient to watch "Collateral Murder" again, in order to
understand why they want him extradited. Or why they (some familiar
faces) even thought of assassinating Assange".
--- DiEM25 Srećko
https://diem25.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=06ed765fa2e2171473ae3c592&id=26555c5ff1&e=52c80b9781
(altri links nel testo, in orginale nel'allegato)
--------------
“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.”
― Julian
Assange
Dear,
The
last time I saw Julian Assange, exactly one year ago, when
he was
still at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, I didn't know yet
that the
next time I would see him would be in a high-security
prison.
I
didn't visit as a journalist, as a lawyer, nor as a family
member - I
came as a friend.
But not only as a friend – I've
also visited Julian as a member and one of the co-founders
of DiEM25,
the movement that has continuously stressed that the freedom
of
Julian Assange is a European issue, a precedent that might
have dire
consequences for Democracy and Freedom of Press in Europe.
And of
course - his life.
To be completely
honest, I wasn't prepared for a prison visit. I wasn't
prepared cause
I didn't know if the visit will take place at all up until
the very
last moment. But more importantly, I simply couldn't: how
can you
possibly be prepared for visiting a friend in prison?
It's
not that those of us who had previously visited Julian at
the
Ecuadorian Embassy in London were not prepared for a
situation like
this. But no one could have quite imagined that it would be
as brutal
as it actually was. That he would be dragged out of the
Embassy,
after his asylum was revoked as if he was a war criminal and
not an
arbitrarly detained publisher as the UN has ruled in 2015
and UN
officials repeated multiple
times.
Then Ecuador handed over all
his belongings,
including legal notes and two manuscripts, to the United
States.
Julian ended up in Belmarsh prison where he served his bail
sentence
until September 22, after which he's been kept there solely
for the
purpose of the extradition to the US. His prison conditions
have not
changed, he is still basically in solitary confinement, 23
hours in
his cell, facing extradition to the US where he's charged
for
espionage and 175 years in prison sentence.
The last
time I met him (and CIA will probably know the exact
date) was
in November 2019. The only thing I can still recall now is
that it
must have been November, because there was an exhibition of
Antonio
Gramsci's "Prison Notebooks" on display in London for the
first time - actually just a few corners away from
Knightsbridge.
It was a rather strange
synchronicity, a sort of temporal and spatial "return of the
repressed", namely, a fatal reminder that Julian might end
up in
prison too. Gramsci, who was one of the greatest political
minds of
the 20th century was imprisoned by the Italian Fascist
regime of
Benito Mussolini in 1926, and compiled the notebooks while
he was in
prison, in 33 volumes, between 1929 and 1935. These are an
important
contribution to 20th century political theory and
philosophy,
including pertinent insights into the architectures of
power,
hegemony, institutions, state, organisation.
As I
was visiting Julian in the Embassy last November, I couldn't
get rid
of the thought that he is, just like Gramsci, a political
prisoner whose
thoughts about the complex issues and challenges of the
early 21st
century were of great value for the cognitive mapping of our
crazy
world. Whether he was thinking or speaking about the role of
institutions and the importance of transparency, about
technology or
geopolitics, Julian was always not only the best informed
one but
also someone who's ability to "zoom out", to grasp and
understand the "big picture", connecting all the dots (and
facts) has certainly lead to a better understanding of
today's world.
From various military interventions to military coups, from
war
crimes to human rights violations.
Clearly, from the
beginning of his imprisonment, Assange, just like Gramsci,
decided
that his struggle will not end there. But unlike Gramsci,
Julian is
still not able to write prison notebooks, and we hope he
won't be
writing them in prison. But that depends also on you.
As
I was standing in the waiting room of the prison, I looked
at the
seated families that gathered and waited for their numbers
to be
called in, to finally meet their beloved ones.
I
don't know them, but I could have seen their worried faces,
even
faces of small children, who were passing by the guards with
control
dogs in between the waiting room and meeting room - probably
with
similar anxieties and feelings as myself.
Yet, I was
not visiting a criminal. Of that I was sure. The real
criminals were
those whose war crimes he, Julian Assange, exposed and who
want him
in an even worse high-security prison than this one, in the
United
States of Donald Trump. It is sufficient to watch "Collateral
Murder"
again, in order to understand why they want him extradited.
Or why
they (some familiar faces) even thought of assassinating
Assange:
I
have visited Belmarsh prison with Julian's father, John
Shipton, a
humble, committed and determined man, whose graceful
gestures and
even-tempered voice lead me through the prison in a
protective way as
if it wasn't him who is in a more difficult situation than
myself.
With his thoughtfulness, he reminds me of Julian. And it
must be hard
for him, him who moved to England to be close to his son,
him who
travels across Europe to meet with lawyers and supporters,
but he was
strong. And as we were standing there, a wife of a prisoner
came up
to John to say her husband supports Julian and that the
isolation
they are putting him through-departing him from other
prisoners is
inhuman.
When
we finally entered the room and I came closer to the table
where
Julian was sitting, he stood up and we immediately and
spontaneously
hugged. And it was the strongest hug we have ever exchanged.
For
apparent reasons. Last time we saw each other he was at the
Ecuadorian Embassy, now he was in a high-security prison.
Last time
we talked he still had an uncertain future, this time it was
quite
clear – unless he is freed, he might die in prison, to
repeat the
words of his father John Shipton,
and Nils Melzner UN Special Rapporteur on Torture who
recently warned
that Julian's life is now at risk.
Everyone should read what Craig Murray has written about in
"Assange
in Court".
So obviously most of our conversation – surveilled all the
time, of
course – pertained to his situation and the danger he is
facing.
Even though he has visibly suffered since
the last time saw each other, even though he has lost 15
kilos in
weight, and even though his life might be at risk, Julian
was fully
focused. Perhaps he was pausing more than usual, taking more
time to
gather his thoughts, sometimes struggling, visibly shaken by
difficult prison conditions, but at the same time he used
his usual
dark humor, unexpected analogies and abstract thought. We
talked
about how his case was not just about him - although it is
clearly
about his life - how it is about human rights, freedom of
the press,
freedom of speech, and last but not least, democracy.
He
was really glad to hear about all the actions and events
organized by
his supporters across the world, from the WE
ARE MILLIONS exhibitions
across Europe to the Australian endeavours to bring Julian
home. Just
later that day, John and me joined a protest,
in front of UK Home Office where hundreds of people gathered
for the
concert by rappers M.I.A. and Lowkey.
I know how
much Julian loved M.I.A.'s song "Paper Planes" and I wished
he could have been there. In the Embassy, even if the
situation was
far from ideal (let's never forget, he was in "arbitrary
detention"), we would listen to music from time to time.
Besides
M.I.A., there was also Rage Against the Machine, so earlier
that day
in prison I mentioned that RATM is reuniting - and he
smiled.
As
I was going to Belmarsh prison I was thinking whether this
information was relevant at all, should I mention it? It
seemed
totally irrelevant having in mind the short time we would
have
together during the visit, but at the same time, these are
the kind
of news that can make someone smile. Even for a brief
moment.
Once
you exit the high-security prison, once you are suddenly
back
"outside", back to "your normal life", while he
is still "inside" waiting for a letter or another short
visit, most of his time completely alone in his cell, what
you've
just been through hits you like a belated arrow: why is
Julian not
able to exit these doors? Why is he not able to spend time
with his
family and friends, to recover from the 10 years of
persecution? Why
is he not free to go to a concert by Rage Against the
Machine? Why is
he not teaching at a UK University, definitely a better way
of using
his talents, instead of suffering in prison? And so many
other
questions.
That short moment of happiness was
perhaps a message in a bottle from a better - and still
possible -
future, but what about the rest of the 23 hours in his
solitary cell?
He said I should tell you that he uses his time in a cell to
walk and
think, around 10-15 km each day, imagining he is walking
across
Europe. He reads the letters, although they are still coming
in with
much delay. And he is grateful to everyone. And even in this
difficult situation, he said it is not just about him, it is
about
the very essence of democracy.
But it is also about
him. It is about his life.
So what can you
do?
Don't wait, do whatever you can. And do it now.
Write him a letter about the "outside" world (with facts
about relevant events and how concretely you are helping
him), force
your MPs to take action and ask your political parties what
they are
doing to protect freedom of press and prevent the
extradition of
Julian Assange, organize and join protests; write to NGOs
and
individuals who deal with human rights and press freedom and
ask them
what they are doing to free Julian; donate
to his defense fund and
make sure to join
DiEM25 as
we will continue to stand with our member Julian Assange and
fight
until he is free.
Together,
we can win!
Srećko Horvat
>>DiEM25 Co-founder
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