After seven years of living a confined life in the Ecuadorian embassy in London and spending more than two years under arrest in a prison in the United Kingdom (UK), a British court handed down a verdict on Friday saying that Julian Assange could be extradited to the United States (US), where he faces 175 years in prison on espionage charges.
His potential extradition to and conviction by the US could set off a global domino effect, whereby press freedoms worldwide would be increasingly threatened and journalists arbitrarily targeted. But before elaborating on how this cataclysmic chain effect could be set in motion, it is necessary to take a step back and understand what exactly happened to Julian Assange.
In 2010, during the height of the US war in Afghanistan and its occupation of Iraq, WikiLeaks, a non-profit whistleblowing organisation founded by Assange, published tens of thousands of classified documents that revealed US war crimes committed in both countries. Subsequently, the US launched an investigation into Assange and WikiLeaks, citing espionage and theft of government property. Assange was later granted political asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012, where he remained for seven years.
In April 2019, Assange was expelled from the embassy and detained by the police in London, where he awaits a decision regarding his extradition to the US. In the following month, the US announced an additional 17 charges of espionage on Assange. However, a British court in January 2021 blocked the US’ extradition request. While the ruling offered relief to Assange, the latest decision has severely dented his hopes of preventing his deportation.
Following the new ruling, American journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Glenn Greenwald, who is known for publishing classified information of the US and UK’s global surveillance programmes based on documents provided by former CIA contractor Edward Snowden, called the British court’s decision a “devastating blow” to Assange’s “quest for freedom.” Greenwald also noted that the US’ “ongoing attempt to extradite and prosecute” Assange is a major blow to worldwide press freedoms.
According to Greenwald, the US’ hounding of Assange has already set the stage for governments around the world to arbitrarily target journalists, adding that the WikiLeaks founder’s arrest would only make matters worse. Greenwald points to his conviction by the Brazilian government in 2020 for cybercrimes after he exposed corruption by high-ranking officials in the Bolsonaro administration. He notes that the government “copied the US indictment of Assange and the theories it embraced” to justify his prosecution.
In fact, more and more countries are taking punitive measures against journalists that dare to criticise their policies. The most common method of targeting reporters has been to accuse them of being a foreign agent and say their work runs counter to the country’s strategic interests.
In fact, Assange himself has been labelled as a Russian agent by the West. This tactic has been employed by China for years, whereby it has punished foreign journalists who are critical of the Chinese Communist Party. In 2020, the Chinese government had detained Australian reporter Cheng Lei for “carrying out criminal activities endangering China’s national security” and accused her of supplying state secrets to foreign countries. In fact, in the same year, China revoked the press credentials of journalists working for several American newspapers, including The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and declared them as functionaries of the US government.
Myanmar’s crackdown on journalists is even worse. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported in July that the junta has arrested 98 journalists since the February coup on the grounds of spreading “fake news” critical of the military. HRW even states that the military has “made the mass arrest of journalists and control over the media a key component of its seizure of power.” In May, Myanmar detained an American journalist for his involvement in “terrorist” activities and encouraging dissent against the military.
Journalists have been targeted in India as well, with one of the most prominent cases being that of Aatish Taseer, whose Indian citizenship was cancelled by the Home Ministry after he wrote a scathing critique of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Time magazine in 2019.
These are but a few examples of how press freedoms are being eroded across the globe, especially in countries in South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa. In fact, being a journalist is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world right now. According to a recent report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 2021 has been a “bleak year” for journalists. According to the CPJ, 293 reporters were jailed this year, a global record, and 24 journalists have already been killed since December 1. It said that China, Myanmar, Egypt, Vietnam, and Belarus were the worse jailers of journalists and added that India witnessed the highest number of reporters murdered—four—in retaliation for their work.
In this context, the potential extradition and conviction of Assange would only serve to further exacerbate the global crackdown on journalists. Human rights groups have warned that extraditing Assange to the US would sound the death knell for press freedoms. The CPJ has noted that such a move would “seriously damage journalism.” Reported Without Borders, HRW, and even the UN has said that sending Assange to the US would “set a dangerous precedent for journalists, whistleblowers, and other journalistic sources” across the world.
The threat of this coming to pass is underscored by the US’ position as a leading force in determining global norms, rules, and principles, particularly when it comes to democratic values and human rights. When the US falls short of the standards it holds others to, other actors in the international system see this as an opportunity to follow in the US’ footsteps.
For instance, following the Capitol riots in January, when armed civilians stormed the Capitol building in Washington DC to support President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of a stolen election, Brazilian President Bolsonaro indicated that he, too, would reject electoral results and refuse to step down if loses in 2022, citing the example of Trump.
Given this unique power to shape the actions of other countries and how its missteps are often used as justifications for human rights and democratic abuses, the US must be wary of the wide-reaching impacts the extradition of Assange could have. Washington’s claims of being a global protector have repeatedly come undone over the years. By making Assange stand trial in the US, Biden will only further draw into question his administration’s commitment to global human rights and press freedoms, which it claims are among its topmost priorities. Taking all of this into consideration, a failure to honour the First Amendment, which explicitly calls for the protection of the freedom of speech and the press, could yield disastrous outcomes across the globe and push journalists further into the arms of danger.
Extraditing Julian Assange to the US Would Further Jeopardise Global Press Freedoms
If Julian Assange is extradited to the US and convicted, it would set a negative precedent for journalistic rights globally and authoritarian regimes would increase their crackdown on reporters.
December 15, 2021
Demonstrators hold placards outside Westminster magistrates court in London, 2019. IMAGE SOURCE: HANNAH MCKAY/REUTERS