Dear Editor,
All those who support peace and neutrality will welcome the release of Wikileaks founder and journalist Julian Assange.
He has been freed after five years incarcerated in Britain’s most notorious Belmarsh Prison, and is expected to travel home to Australia after he agreed to plead guilty to a single charge of breaching the espionage law in the United States.
The United States sought to extradite Julian Assange, who is an Australian citizen, after his website WikiLeaks published thousands of US documents in 2010, some that exposed US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The politically motivated charges represent an unprecedented attack on press freedom and the public’s right to know – seeking to criminalise basic journalistic activity.
Throughout his years of imprisonment and persecution an incredible movement of people from around the world came together to support Julian, and what he stands for, truth and justice, hopefully this campaign will continue.
Sadly, the Irish Government remained silent on the plight of Julian Assange and missed the chance to be on the right side of this important geopolitical issue, once again allowing truth to be the first casualty of war.
Yours Sincerely
Roger Cole,
Chair,
Peace & Neutrality Alliance
