The Editors Guild of India Wednesday came out strongly in support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange by urging the US government to withdraw all charges leveled against him.
The Guild said that the US government has been making a mockery of freedom of speech by harassing and intimidating Assange.
A British judge Wednesday denied bail to Assange, ordering him to remain in a high-security prison while U.K. courts decide whether he will be sent to the United States to face espionage charges.
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser said Assange must remain in prison while the courts consider an appeal by U.S. authorities against her decision not to extradite him.
“The U.S. government, which has been leading this harassment and intimidation, has made a mockery of freedom of speech that is explicitly assured in the U.S. Constitution and what ought to be a universal democratic practice,” the Guild said.
The Guild said that if the US Department of Justice does not charges against Assange, it would have implications on how governments all over the world perceive investigative and national security journalism.
“The Assange case could have been a path breaker to ensure that individuals exercising their democratic rights are protected against governments they scrutinise,” the Guild said.
Wednesday’s bail ruling means Assange must remain in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison where he has been held since he was arrested in April 2019 for skipping bail during a separate legal battle seven years earlier.
PNN/Agencies