The US has charged Assange with multiple counts of espionage related to the publication of classified national defense information on WikiLeaks in 2010. Most of the published documents pertained to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The charges against him also include conspiring to hack government computers. If convicted, Assange could be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison. In the meantime, Sweden has dropped an investigation into rape allegations against Assange — the main reason he had sought refuge at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012, as he had feared extradition to the US via Sweden. He remained holed up in the embassy until April 2019. After being evicted, he was arrested and sentenced by the UK to 50 weeks in prison for jumping bail.

While the U.S. sees Wikileaks as a “hostile spy agency,” Many are concerned that Assange’s case could set a dangerous precedent on freedom of the press and freedom of speech. In the view of supporters “this is a crucial point in time where the people have to realize that this is not about some man whom they like or don’t like, but that this is about their own rights and the integrity of the democracies and the rule of law systems that they live in.”

We should all support Julian Assange. We owe him a great deal of thanks for helping to expose more of the American government’s corruption and war crimes!

Protests August 26th in L.A. Julian Assange Supporters Alice Springs. Protests like this have been occurring for years all over the world.