A victory for Assange, a defeat for media freedom
After 1901 days in prison, WikiLeaks founder Assange is free. A deal with the US judiciary made it possible - but the price is high, says Michael Sontheimer.
The author interviews Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in 2017.
(Image: Michael Sontheimer)
"If exposing crimes is treated like a crime, then we are ruled by criminals". That's what ex-CIA employee Edward Snowden said. And this is what the whistleblower and Julian Assange have shown the world with his disclosure platform WikiLeaks. They have shown that the government of the USA, the number one military superpower, wants to unconditionally protect its Secret Service employees and soldiers when they break the law and commit war crimes.
With WikiLeaks, Assange invented a technical solution for the protection of whistleblowers on the Internet, which is always a central problem of investigative journalism; a solution for the anonymous submission of data that has been adopted by numerous media around the world. The fact that important WikiLeaks sources such as Chelsea Manning and Joshua Schulte were exposed and sentenced to long prison terms by US courts was not due to Assange, but to these sources seeking contact with WikiLeaks or exposing themselves.
The fact that Assange betrayed sources is nonetheless one of the propaganda myths used to ruin his reputation, some of which still haunt the media. This also includes the claim that Assange and WikiLeaks shoveled huge quantities of secret documents online without hesitation and without checking them – which is false.
Deal as redemption
It was a relief for Assange that his US prosecutors offered a deal. He can be grateful to his lawyers, who had brought the US Department of Justice to the brink of defeat in the seemingly endless extradition proceedings before the English courts. Only to avoid a court-ordered refusal of extradition to the USA, the US prosecutors finally offered a deal that secured Assange's freedom after 1901 days in solitary confinement.
Assange can also be grateful to his supporters, who raised donations for 11 million euros in legal fees and 5 million for campaigns - a worldwide network of activists. Following his release, they are calling for him to be pardoned and rehabilitated.
The Australian government has diplomatically paved the way for his release. "Bring the boy home" became a popular slogan in his home country; Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared time and time again regarding his ongoing imprisonment: "Enough is enough." Behind the scenes, Australian diplomats negotiated the details of the deal.
European governments did nothing
European governments played virtually no part in Assange's release. They cowardly ducked away for years, not daring to publicly criticize the US secret services' vendetta against WikiLeaks. Until last year, the Federal Foreign Office made a point of not referring to Assange as a journalist.
"Reporters Without Borders" spoke of his release as a "historic event", but Assange's release day was not necessarily a good day for media freedom. This was because the Australian journalist was forced to agree to a deal that was a compromise with the US justice system and contained conditions that Assange would never have signed in freedom.
A precedent for journalists
The fact that he will be deported from the USA in future because he is not a US citizen will not bother him too much. The fact that he had to undertake to destroy all US materials still in the possession of WikiLeaks is more likely. Above all, he was the first journalist ever to have to agree to a conviction under the US Espionage Act of 1917, to plead guilty to this offense. A precedent that will serve as a warning to journalists working with US secret documents in the future and have a deterrent effect.
Julian Assange has paid a considerable price for his freedom and his health. He made it clear during the trial in the US Mariana Islands that he did so only grudgingly, when he explained that he had believed his activities were covered by the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees media freedom. His lawyer got him to back down, but remorse looks different. His friends recognized immediately: he is still the old, combative, courageous Julian. For him, WikiLeaks stands by its values: Truth, transparency, media freedom and democracy.
No one who knows Assange better can imagine that he will retire to private life and find fulfillment as a happy family man. He will continue to fight for the truth with the tenacity with which his wife Stella and all his supporters fought for his release. Julian Assange will do so and thus remain a controversial public figure. And that is a good thing.
(nie)