" Journalism " On Trial !

 Australian Julian Assange is facing court in London to try and stop the American government from having him extradited into their hands.   If that happens they will prosecute him on charges which may see him serve sentences of one hundred and seventy five years imprisonment, which is virtually a death sentence

Assange is the publisher of a news magazine named Wikileaks. which published stories from stolen US military data America had labelled " Top Secret ".  This was gleaned by way of an American serviceman who worked in data transfer who copied the material he handled and passed it on to Wikileaks. That serviceman has been court marshalled, jailed - and rehabilitated.  He is now a free man.

Assange found himself facing a dubious rape charge in Sweden which saw him arrested in London.  He absconded while on bail and took refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy, from which he held press conferences and stayed out of reach of the law for six and a half years.  Eventually, his mental health deteriorated to the extent that this benefactor had him expelled.  The British held him in prison on the basis of that breach of bail matter while the American extradition case proceeds.

There are big crowds of people demonstrating outside the Old Bailey court in London and demanding Assange be freed.  At issue is the information Wikileaks brought to public attention.  It gave clear evidence of illicit military American action overseas in which civilians were killed and which was covered up by the US government.  It certainly embarrassed the US administration, which has never wavered from attempts to make Assange pay for that intrusion.

The issue revolves around morality.  The Americans acted illegally under international law and Assange is a journalist.  He looks like spending the remainder of his life in prison for the crime of speaking the truth about something a foreign government wished to keep secret.  If that is allowed to happen, what other journalists face danger in their profession for writing true stories that offend serving governments and which reveal breaches of the law by the very government trying to silence journalists ?

The Australian government has said little while an Australian citizen faces charged overseas.  We are friends of both Britain and America, and obviously we have out own dirty little secrets hidden away and which we would not like to be revealed.  It would be very convenient to do nothing and let Assange pay the price for doing the job expected of journalists.

Governments hide behind " National Security "  in hiding secrets they wish to keep from public knowledge, but is that any different from outing a bandit who is stealing public funds and making him or her pay for that crime  ?   We claim to offer protection to the whistle blowers, but Assange simply revealed illicit military activity that caused the death of innocent people - and which went unpunished.

This American pursuit of Assange is a matter of spite and a wish to be vindictive.  He is a public figure they wish to bring down as a warning to other journalists.   There is also a lot of other unpublished matter held by WikiLeaks which may be used as a bargaining point if Assange goes to trial in America.

The outcome of that case in the Old Bailey will have a heavy impact on how journalists view their job freedom, depending on the outcome !