"I believe the most effective activists are those that fight and run away to fight another day, not those who fight and martyr themselves. That’s about judgment - when to engage in the fight and when to withdraw so as to preserve your resources for the next fight."
from the book "Julian Assange In His Own Words.“

Hi there, I am Claudia from Assange Support Berlin. Over the past years we have continuously organized protest and film screenings in support of Julian Assange. As you know, he's been freed in June. But our work for press freedom is far from over.
Why? - Julian Assange is free but the Espionage Act is still working. Targeting people in and out of the US.
What does it mean for journalists, publishers and whistleblowers? Worldwide? And what does it mean for every one of us?
We have conceived an explainer video....

More see here: https://gofund.me/646ed427
Please help us spread the project and finance the artists!

Julian Assange and the Espionage Act (background information)

Julian Assange had to plead guilty to one count of espionage to get free. The US Espionage Act, from the very beginning of its existence in 1917, has mostly been used to limit the free flow of information in times of war and has targeted people criticizing the US foreign and military policy. The act did much less target spies giving information to the enemy as the name suggests. And it has so far mostly operated under the radar of public scrutiny. The recent release of Julian Assange has now brought it into the media spotlight.

Whistleblowers like Chelsea Manning, but also much lesser known ones like Joshua Schulte or Daniel Hale served or are serving long prison sentences under this law. Also, Edward Snowden is charged under this law, that is why he cannot return home to the US: As the Espionage Act does not allow to invoke a public interest, Snowden wouldn’t be allowed to talk about the reasons of his disclosures on worldwide mass surveillance.

Moreover, the US also uses the Espionage Act beyond its own territory, but does not grant First Amendment rights to those targeted: they cannot invoke the US right to free speech. This is what we see in the Assange case: An Australian working in Europe was charged for violating a US law. If Europe does not upgrade its legal defenses against extradition requests of mighty states, journalists, whistleblowers, activists can be persecuted, charged and detained the way Julian Assange was. As the legal scholar Carey Shenkman points out, any person on earth is in the same legal position as Julian Assange.

On the US - Espionage Act
Carey Shenkman, Espionage Act in 10 minutes
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQH0h6NpQMk

Chip Gibbons, Assange’s case shows why reforming the Espionage Act is imperative for press freedom:
www.thenation.com/article/world/espionage-reform-press-freedom-whistleblowers/
jacobin.de/artikel/julian-assange-wikileaks-pressefreiheit-espionage-act

EU-Parlamentarier Martin Sonneborn über den inhaftierten Whistleblower Joshua Schulte:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aELCqeMhE7I"

Julian Assange spricht in Straßburg / Julian Assange’s first public speech after his release:
Julian Assange’s address to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), October 1, 2024
x.com/wikileaks/status/1841064879819555221
and
consortiumnews.com/2024/10/01/assange-im-free-because-i-pled-guilty-to-journalism/

Video of entire hearing incl. Q&A session
www.youtube.com/live/Mq85IZMeigc

Julian Assange‘ Rede vor dem Rechts- und Menschenrechtsausschuss der Parlamentarischen Versammlung des Europarats am 1.Oktober 2024
www.telepolis.de/features/Julian-Assange-Ich-sehe-heute-mehr-Geheimhaltung-mehr-Selbstzensur-9962990.html

Die Bedeutung des Falls Assange, zusammengefasst nach seiner Freilassung von Raja Stutz:
www.berliner-zeitung.de/open-source/julian-assange-als-praezedenzfall-sind-whistleblower-journalisten-und-verleger-verschwoerer-li.2230588
www.spiegel.de/ausland/julian-assange-wie-der-wikileaks-gruender-freikam-a-a601944f-373a-443c-b3c7-aecc6d49b89b

Donnerstag 21.11.2024 - Buchvorstellung
Stefania Maurizi: "Secret Power: Der Angriff auf WikiLeaks und Julian Assange"
um 19:00 - 21:00 Uhr, im Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Saal, Straße der Pariser Kommune 8A, 10243 Berlin, Details auf www.rosalux.de , Anmeldung
Die Veranstaltung kann hier angesehen werden: Link