7 ms·

There's no reason why he should be held in the manner he is right now. No charges against him, he's not posing any threat.

mikro2nd 5y ago
The argument that he's a flight risk is quite strong, supported by his historic behaviour. No, I don't think they should be holding him at all, given that extradition has already been refused, but this is about punishment and vengeance and politics, not about right, wrong or justice.
- unixhero 5y ago
  He will be taking a flight allright. Probably to go home to Australia. The only way to actually return. I hope it ends well for him.
- shkkmo 5y ago
  His past behavior supports denying bail but absolutely doesn't justify solitary confinement in a maximum security prison.
  - ChrisKnott 5y ago
    He isn't in solitary confinement
    - shkkmo 5y ago
      He was kept in solitary confinement for ~9 months in Belmarsh.
      - ChrisKnott 5y ago
        No he wasn't
        shkkmo 5y ago
        Please go check your information and try to contribute more to the conversation than a flat denial of widely documented facts.
        ChrisKnott 5y ago
        Are you referring to when he was in the healthcare unit?
        shkkmo 5y ago
        He was moved to the healthcare unit at the end of those 9 months after repeated petitions.
        ChrisKnott 5y ago
        How can that be when he was moved to the healthcare unit in May 2019[0]? What dates do you think he was in "solitary confinement"? (Please go check your information and try to contribute more to the conversation than a flat denial of widely documented facts.) [0] https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/USA-v-Assange-judgment-040121.pdf https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/USA-v-As...
        shkkmo 5y ago
        I don't see any content in that PDF that relates to what you claim to be using it as a citation for. Linking to a 130 page document legal document and providing no quote or source section seems like a bad faith use of citations to bolster your argument without actually providing any facts. The fact is that Assange kept in conditions that were not only deemed solitary isolation by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, but also qualify as solitary isolation under British , EU and UN law. [0] [0] https://21stcenturywire.com/2020/01/26/julian-assange-and-inhumanity-of-british-state-prison-healthcare-solitary-confinement-and-torture/ https://21stcenturywire.com/2020/01/26/julian-assange-and-in...
- ekianjo 5y ago
  They keep him away because this way they keep him silenced as well. If he were free he would be a strong voice against the powers that be.
juanani 5y ago
Sends a message. You will be hunted til no end if you decide to air our dirty laundry. He really did put a notch in 'The West is the Best' campaign. Oh how far would we have progressed if our war crimes had just stayed hidden. How dare he poke holes in our godly narrative. What a fn hero.
nobody9999 5y ago
>No charges against him cf. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wikileaks-founder-charged-superseding-indictment https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wikileaks-founder-charged-sup...
- stephen_g 5y ago
  No charges in the UK, and the extradition was denied. He should not have been detained between the extradition being denied and this appeal trial.
  - nobody9999 5y ago
    >No charges in the UK, and the extradition was denied. He should not have been detained between the extradition being denied and this appeal trial. I'm not familiar with UK law, nor am I well informed about the penalties for jumping bail there. Was Assange held on charges related to that? It's also not entirely clear to me what responsibilities the UK government has with respect to its extradition treaty with the US. Is the UK treaty-bound to hold Assange based on the US indictment? Since you seem better informed about this than I am, perhaps you could provide some detail about that? Assuming that your assertion is correct, the UK government has some explaining to do.
    - blitzar 5y ago
      > I'm not familiar with UK law, nor am I well informed about the penalties for jumping bail there. Was Assange held on charges related to that? Yes, he was tried and convicted, and has now served the 50 week jail sentence (he was convicted 1 May 2019 after 6 years 10 months on the run). > It's also not entirely clear to me what responsibilities the UK government has with respect to its extradition treaty with the US. Is the UK treaty-bound to hold Assange based on the US indictment? Yes. They could be released on bail, but if you are a convicted criminal whos crime was jumping bail the last time you were released on bail, you are going to have a tough time convincing a judge that 'its different this time'. Bail in extradition cases is covered by the Bail Act 1976. Where the requested person is wanted to face an accusation, the starting point is that there is a ‘presumption in favour’ of bail. > Assuming that your assertion is correct, the UK government has some explaining to do. No it doesnt.
kordlessagain 5y ago
> In 2012, Assange communicated directly with a leader of the hacking group LulzSec (who by then was cooperating with the FBI), and provided a list of targets for LulzSec to hack. With respect to one target, Assange asked the LulzSec leader to look for (and provide to WikiLeaks) mail and documents, databases and pdfs. Sounds like a good reason to be a threat, albeit a not so smart one.

mikro2nd 5y ago

The argument that he's a flight risk is quite strong, supported by his historic behaviour. No, I don't think they should be holding him at all, given that extradition has already been refused, but this is about punishment and vengeance and politics, not about right, wrong or justice.

unixhero 5y ago
He will be taking a flight allright. Probably to go home to Australia. The only way to actually return. I hope it ends well for him.
shkkmo 5y ago
His past behavior supports denying bail but absolutely doesn't justify solitary confinement in a maximum security prison.
- ChrisKnott 5y ago
  He isn't in solitary confinement
  - shkkmo 5y ago
    He was kept in solitary confinement for ~9 months in Belmarsh.
    - ChrisKnott 5y ago
      No he wasn't
      - shkkmo 5y ago
        Please go check your information and try to contribute more to the conversation than a flat denial of widely documented facts.
        ChrisKnott 5y ago
        Are you referring to when he was in the healthcare unit?
        shkkmo 5y ago
        He was moved to the healthcare unit at the end of those 9 months after repeated petitions.
        ChrisKnott 5y ago
        How can that be when he was moved to the healthcare unit in May 2019[0]? What dates do you think he was in "solitary confinement"? (Please go check your information and try to contribute more to the conversation than a flat denial of widely documented facts.) [0] https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/USA-v-Assange-judgment-040121.pdf https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/USA-v-As...
        shkkmo 5y ago
        I don't see any content in that PDF that relates to what you claim to be using it as a citation for. Linking to a 130 page document legal document and providing no quote or source section seems like a bad faith use of citations to bolster your argument without actually providing any facts. The fact is that Assange kept in conditions that were not only deemed solitary isolation by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, but also qualify as solitary isolation under British , EU and UN law. [0] [0] https://21stcenturywire.com/2020/01/26/julian-assange-and-inhumanity-of-british-state-prison-healthcare-solitary-confinement-and-torture/ https://21stcenturywire.com/2020/01/26/julian-assange-and-in...
ekianjo 5y ago
They keep him away because this way they keep him silenced as well. If he were free he would be a strong voice against the powers that be.

juanani 5y ago

Sends a message. You will be hunted til no end if you decide to air our dirty laundry. He really did put a notch in 'The West is the Best' campaign. Oh how far would we have progressed if our war crimes had just stayed hidden. How dare he poke holes in our godly narrative. What a fn hero.

nobody9999 5y ago

>No charges against him cf. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wikileaks-founder-charged-superseding-indictment https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wikileaks-founder-charged-sup...

stephen_g 5y ago
No charges in the UK, and the extradition was denied. He should not have been detained between the extradition being denied and this appeal trial.
- nobody9999 5y ago
  >No charges in the UK, and the extradition was denied. He should not have been detained between the extradition being denied and this appeal trial. I'm not familiar with UK law, nor am I well informed about the penalties for jumping bail there. Was Assange held on charges related to that? It's also not entirely clear to me what responsibilities the UK government has with respect to its extradition treaty with the US. Is the UK treaty-bound to hold Assange based on the US indictment? Since you seem better informed about this than I am, perhaps you could provide some detail about that? Assuming that your assertion is correct, the UK government has some explaining to do.
  - blitzar 5y ago
    > I'm not familiar with UK law, nor am I well informed about the penalties for jumping bail there. Was Assange held on charges related to that? Yes, he was tried and convicted, and has now served the 50 week jail sentence (he was convicted 1 May 2019 after 6 years 10 months on the run). > It's also not entirely clear to me what responsibilities the UK government has with respect to its extradition treaty with the US. Is the UK treaty-bound to hold Assange based on the US indictment? Yes. They could be released on bail, but if you are a convicted criminal whos crime was jumping bail the last time you were released on bail, you are going to have a tough time convincing a judge that 'its different this time'. Bail in extradition cases is covered by the Bail Act 1976. Where the requested person is wanted to face an accusation, the starting point is that there is a ‘presumption in favour’ of bail. > Assuming that your assertion is correct, the UK government has some explaining to do. No it doesnt.

kordlessagain 5y ago

> In 2012, Assange communicated directly with a leader of the hacking group LulzSec (who by then was cooperating with the FBI), and provided a list of targets for LulzSec to hack. With respect to one target, Assange asked the LulzSec leader to look for (and provide to WikiLeaks) mail and documents, databases and pdfs. Sounds like a good reason to be a threat, albeit a not so smart one.