![Assange Court Hearing London Julian Assange's Court Hearing February 2024. Freedom of the Press is under threat. Wikileaks founder. Royal Courts of Justice Strand London.](https://phaet.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Assange-Final-Cover-Image-scaled.jpg)
Julian Assange – Today, April 11th, 2024 marks exactly 5 Years he’s been Falsely Imprisoned in Belmarsh Maximum Prison
Written February 20th – Night
It’s early in London and the dark clouds have been out looming for about 12 years now. Signs are everywhere… Depictions of a man truly of the people. The crowds started shuffling in early at The Royal Courts of (no) Justice in Strand to stand in support. Strands of yellow tape tied with empathy, sympathy, solidarity, confusion, steadfastness, anger…Love… to the metal dividers that form a protective barrier around the front of the courthouse, signed with a name, a message, a country… each a testament, a gesture of “I was here” or, “My country is here for you too”. Not even 15 ft across a one lane street, on an embankment dividing the one lane and another two-lane road, is Camera row. A brimming line of Watchful Eyes large and small, on tripods, gimbals and handheld, operated by media outlets large and small, speaking across myriad languages. A manifested metaphoric opposing protective wall behind the protestors, a wall in protest of the other wall, a wall which ultimately represents the walls keeping our man inside.. the man of the hour. The man for whom all of us have gathered, people from all walks of life, from many different countries, all for the same crucial reason. The court hearing for Julian Assange.
While you are out there somewhere, going about your day, making your schedule, going about your routines and playing out your life, one man prepares to face the biggest battle for Freedom of the Press, of our times. He does so after 7 years of asylum in a foreign embassy, followed now by 5 years in a maximum-security prison, with NO CONVICTIONS against him. Imprisoned Not within the country that actually wants his head. The scene is a dire travesty and is in immediate need of your, and everyone else’s attention.
The United Nations‘ 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.”
This most inalienable right supersedes even the constitution of the United States, which itself, has a congruous Article and decree concerning the exact same right. And this right belongs to Everyone. That right absolutely neither dissolves nor loses even the slightest degree of gravity, when it becomes inconvenient to governments. It would be one thing if insightful lies were causing violence, however, when its Truth which highlights the inhumanity, unlawfulness and blood-thirst of governments which are acting on behalf of a nation, a nation paying for that blood-thirst, the people have a right to know.
Julian Assange represents the true spirit of real, raw, just journalism. He uncovered and put on display for the world, egregious atrocities and perversions of domestic and international rules of engagement, committed by the United States. For this reason, Julian spent 7 years in an Ecuadorian Embassy followed directly by 5 years in Belmarsh Maximum Security Prison, faces Extradition to the US and 175 years in jail or “natural or accidental death” in prison, before he even gets to trial. Aside from the reports mentioned above, Julian put out Volumes of incredible, hidden information, all pertinent to the public’s purview and knowledge, while running his outlet, Wikileaks.
Citizens the world over, owe a great debt of gratitude to Julian for his efforts to bring the truth to light, while risking his well-being, without so much as a flinch. One of the best ways to show that gratitude, is to be both informed and vocal about his story, as well as the most recent public hearing on February 20-21, 2024. It very well may represent his final chance for an appeal. If the judges at that hearing ultimately decide that he has no further rights to appeal, he will be almost immediately be extradited to the United States, where he faces 175 years in jail for treason. Also of supreme relevance, recently Julian Assange won the right to proceed with a legal action against the CIA and other accomplices, who plotted Julian’s assassination. PLOTTED THE ASSASSINATION OF A JOURNALIST FOR JOURNALING. So how much better is our government, than that of Saudi Arabia who strangled to death, Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi, who was a Saudi journalist, dissident, author, columnist for Middle East Eye and The Washington Post, and a general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab News Channel, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2nd, 2018? This murder was committed by agents of the Saudi government at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. There is no discernible difference here, just that the US tries a little harder to hide their dirt, but it is certainly present…in Cargo-ship loads.
I am going to invite a few noteworthy quotes on the subject of Free Press to truly impress upon you, the gravity of this subject:
“The Governments power to censor the press was Abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the government. The press was protected so that it could BARE THE SECRETS OF GOVERNMENT AND INFORM THE PEOPLE. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.”
-Hugo Black, Supreme Court Justice, Lawyer, Politician, Jurist
“Freedom of the press, or, to be more precise, the benefit of freedom of the press, belongs to everyone – to the citizen as well as the publisher… The crux is not the publisher’s ‘freedom to print’; it is, rather, the Citizens Right To Know”
-Arthur Hays Sulzberger, 26 Year Publisher of The New York Times
“Freedom Of The Press is to the machinery of the state, what the Safety Valve is to the steam engine.”
-Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher
There is of course, plenty more where that came from. However, to keep from driving the point home again and again, a method which no doubt functions on a percentage of the public, I also must take care not to encroach on the short attention span which earmarks another sizable portion of the population, with an emphasis on the most recent few generations, (It’s not your fault). I say this not with any purpose of throwing shade, but rather with the deep desire that some might take pause and reevaluate, not only the information they consume, but also the ways in which they actively consume that information, the two are equally important and eternally bound to the Resulting Programming (RP or RP Value ™ ©). RP Meaning, how the information and your modes of consumption have wired/rewired your brain AND your DNA, from the perceptions created, actions taken or not taken, feelings generated and more. To make all of that really succinct, be Mindful, be Present, be Observant, be Inquisitive, be Free of Pre-existing Prejudices when intaking new information, and be Studied on the Sources you are getting your information from. (To that last point, the top 11,000 media outlets around the globe and across All mediums; Print, Radio, TV, Online etc. are in fact owned by 6 individuals. Or less, as the hunger for total consolidation seems yet another inevitable road which of course will also lead to Rome. Hmm… So, All of the information which the Overwhelming majority of people consume, on earth, is controlled by an amount of people you can practically count on one hand.) #PleaseThink
All of this brings us right back around to the idea which began our little aside here… FREEDOM of the press. If we are predominantly being impressed upon by a Press that tells us which matters are pressing, and which to press the “off button” on, what freedom is there? If we don’t press back and pressure the oppressor, No Freedom of the Press; will be a Chilling matter of fact.
As I sit here in my London hotel room at 5:08am, reflective of the Days X (Feb 20-21), the Protesting, the Hollering, the Marching, the Support, the Purpose and The Energy, writing this piece, I am reminded of the early days of the Surveillance State. When the argument from those who saw no problem to just do all that their non-blood uncle (Sam) tells them to do, was to allow their life to be at the hands of who knows what and how many agencies, under the following philosophy: ‘If you have nothing to hide, if you’re not doing anything wrong, then what’s the problem?’. Now there is in fact still a problem, it’s called Privacy. But for the moment, let’s just hold their position up to the light. Julian Assange has exposed just a fraction of what our, and many other Corrupt Governments, are doing in the name of the people who MAY have voted them in, the people who pay their salaries, the people who have Entrusted them to build a better world, to leave things better than they were. He has showed us the proverbial smoking gun, the tippity-tippity top of the tip of an ICEBERG… And where are those people now? Where are they with their song about “just put it all out there if you’re not doing anything wrong”?. (Crickets). They are Weak of character, don’t see and/or don’t want to admit the duality of those in Control… I mean Power. Julian is simply saying, if you’re not doing anything wrong, then you should have nothing to hide, but saying it to those who have imposed their will on the lot of us in uncountable ways. Again, who we Pay to represent us, Not to abuse the power for Power Over, the World over. With so much opportunity to truly be a light in the world at one of its darkest hours, the US has disastrously fallen short of even a glint, of a glimmer.
So, please… I urge you with all my spirit, all of me which knows to the essence of my being, how important, is the case of Julian Assange. For all oppressed people, those forgotten, those in peril, those in need, those preyed upon, those with no voice, and for the youth who will inherit what we Intentionally leave behind by our own choices… For all of these people, past, future and present, and for you, this case AND its outcome, is of dire significance, to an order of the highest magnitude. Please pay attention, show the system, the Ether, that our voice, your voice, is important to you. Show it that you want better and are committed to seeing it realized. Show it that we are one, when it comes down to the most fundamental of human rights, and that their media blackouts no longer hold power over us because we have a mind, we are communicating with each other in spite of their silence on the matters that matter, that we will no longer be manipulated and that those we have Allowed to set foot in office, political, military or otherwise, Unequivocally will be held to Standards and to Justice, by the people for who’s betterment, they Serve in that post.
… (Written while in London)
Updated:
It is now 8:55pm Monday March 25th and I am back home in my native New York. I just received word a couple of hours ago, that Tomorrow, will be the day. The day the court will issue its decision. We sure have been waiting with bated breath, for news we can celebrate over. I will return here to conclude my article, once the verdict is in. Until then… We are all praying for Julian Assange.
Updated: Tuesday March 26th
Well, the Non-response response is in! They have Not proceeded with extradition just yet, nor have they properly granted Julian’s right to appeal that extradition. As well, in an act of flagrant disregard for justice, the court has Specifically Not agreed to review the information regarding the CIA Assassination plot. If they acknowledge the evidence of that plot, it would close the door on extradition, therefore, they will Not look at the plot or take it into account.
The high court has asked the US courts to give assurances over the next 3 weeks.
First, whether or not Julian Assange will have a fair trial, which would include 1st Amendment/Free Speech Protections, Also that he will not face the death penalty.
If the US fails to give these assurances, Julian will be able to appeal the extradition on the grounds of:
Breech of Freedom of Expression, and for potentially facing the Death Penalty.
May 20th is the next court date which will be the reckoning of the aforementioned assurances, or the lack thereof. The time is Now for the Australian Government to Demand the return of their citizen. The time is Now for President Joe Biden to Drop the case against Assange. The time is Now for The Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights to Stand up and Intervene in this matter and demand the Release of Julian Assange. The time is Now for citizens the world over, to stand in conscious solidarity with Julian, as the future of true journalism, is in fact on the line. The time is Now for Justice to Actually Prevail.
I would like to take a moment to give thanks for the many people who are working for and supporting Julian from their hearts.. Stella his wife, her family, his father and brothers, his children who have suffered, the rest of his legal team, the gust speakers, All the Beautiful and Inspired People who simply came to lend their energies and voices, many of whom I had the pleasure of befriending and having meaningful dialogue with. Very specifically I would like to thank Vinnie DeStefano, National Organizing Director at Assange Defense, for his efforts on the front lines, his commitment to the cause, and his extremely Welcoming and Helpful nature. I had the honor of personally experiencing this after having reached out in the weeks ahead of my trip, in deep conversation, as well as in an interview which will be posted shortly after this article’s release. Vinnie, Thank you for all you do!
I deeply wish that those of you, especially the younger generations who are just coming into knowledge and understanding about this court case and just how Crucial its outcome is to all aspects of our collective timeline, (past, present and future), I wish that this will incite and ignite a Call To Action within, that will spill over into all of the many other Vital Causes that desperately need our attention and Energy. And with that push, we can put an end to this seemingly endless era of Greed-Money-Power – based Manipulation and Subterfuge.
Always keep this in mind… Those of us who report the truth on subjects like Government, Political and Corporate Corruption, are not doing it for the pay day… actually, seldom are we paid for doing it. Conversely, WE pay; pay with our lives.
-The WordsMyth – Journalist – Poet – Philosopher – ThinkTank – Futurist – Human Rights Consultant – Entrepreneur
…of Phaet.org
The WordsMyths State Of The Human Address 2020
5 Years Imprisonment Today for Julian Assange