Newsman: In an open letter to Donald Trump, an independent UN human rights expert asked the departing United States President to pardon Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, saying “he is not, and has never been, an enemy of the American people”. He urged, ‘Don’t shoot the messenger.’ The independent expert also explained his request, saying that prosecuting Mr. Assange for publishing true information about serious official misconduct would amount to “shooting the messenger” rather than correcting the problem he exposed.
The U.N. special rapporteur on torture, Nils Melzer, wrote Mr. Assange has been arbitrarily deprived of his liberty for the past ten years”, wrote Nils Melzer, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. “This is a high price to pay for the courage to publish true information about government misconduct throughout the world”. British the authorities arrested Julian Assange inside London’s Ecuadorian Embassy in April, 2019; a British court is set to rule on 4 January as to whether or not Mr. Assange should be extradited to the US. If extradited to the US, the Wikileaks founder faces criminal prosecution and up to 175 years in prison for the 2010 publication of secret documents through his platform which publishes leaked military, diplomatic, and other files categorized as State secrets.
The UN expert “respectfully” requested Mr. Assange’s release after visiting him with two independent medical doctors in Belmarsh High Security Prison in London.
“I can attest to the fact that his health has seriously deteriorated, to the point where his life is now in danger”, Mr. Melzer said. “Critically, Mr. Assange suffers from a documented respiratory condition which renders him extremely vulnerable to the Covid-19 pandemic that has recently broken out in the prison”.
The Special Rapporteur upheld that Mr. Assange had obtained his information from “authentic documents and sources in the same way as any other serious and independent investigative journalists conduct their work”. Moreover, it would be incompatible with the core values of justice, rule of law and press freedom, as reflected in the American Constitution and US-ratified international human rights instruments, he added.
The UN expert asked that Mr. Assange be pardoned, saying, “Wikileaks fights secrecy and corruption throughout the world and, therefore, acts in the public interest both of the American people and of humanity as a whole”, maintained Mr. Melzer.
He made the case that Mr. Assange had never hacked, stolen or published false information, nor caused reputational harm through any personal misconduct, pointing out that whether one agrees or disagrees with their publications, “they clearly cannot be regarded as crimes”.
U.N. special rapporteur on torture, Nils Melzer said, “I ask because you have vowed, Mr. President, to pursue an agenda of fighting government corruption and misconduct; and because allowing the prosecution of Mr. Assange to continue would mean that, under your legacy, telling the truth about such corruption and misconduct has become a crime”, the letter continued.
However, It is learned from various sources in the US news media that President Trump is reportedly considering granting legal immunity to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is facing a federal lawsuit over a plot to assassinate a former top Saudi intelligence officer who now lives in Canada. Such a move may provide the legal basis to protect bin Salman over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
