Drop charges against Julian Assange, Editors Guild of India tells US

 

INDIA – The Editors Guild of India has called on the government of the United States to withdraw all charges against Publisher of Wikileaks, Mr. Julian Assange and end his travails.

The Editors Guild of India made the plea following UK court’s judgment which turned down request for Julian Assange’s extradition to the US.

“Over the past decades, Julian Assange has been subjected to persecution, including imprisonment for doing his journalistic duty of bringing truth to power”, the guild said, stressing that US government which has been leading the harassment and intimidation has made a mockery of freedom of speech  that is explicitly assured in the US constitution and what out to be a universal practice.

The Editor Guild of India warned that if the US does not drop charges,  under the Espionage Act of publishing documents against Julian Assange,  it will have implications on how governments all over the world including India perceive investigative and national security journalism.

The guild noted that though the UK court turned down the request for extraditing Assange,  it did so on the ground of  his mental health and not for protecting his freedom of speech  and exercising his journalistic duty.

“The Assange case could have been a path breaker to ensure that individuals exercising their democratic rights are protected against government they scrutinize”, the statement signed by Seema Mustafa, Sanjay  Kapoor  and Anant Nath, President, General Secretary and Treasurer said.

The statement added that to uphold media freedom and  the larger principle of democracy,  the US government must drop all charges against Julian Assange and allow his release from prison immediately.