Not Pynchon but Assange

[rich]

Hard to disagree with the sentiments regarding press freedoms and
whistleblowers but I only wish Assange wasn't the poster boy

rich

On Fri, Jan 31, 2020 at 9:51 AM Thomas Eckhardt <thomas.eckhardt at uni-bonn.de>
wrote:

> Here is the most complete account I have read. An interview with Nils
> Melzer, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel,
> Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and professor of
> international
> law at the University of Glasgow.
> Melzer provides many interesting details and I highly recommend reading
> the
> whole thing. This might serve as his conclusion:
> "What does it mean when UN member states refuse to provide information to
> their own Special Rapporteur on Torture?
> That it is a prearranged affair. A show trial is to be used to make an
> example of Julian Assange. The point is to intimidate other journalists.
> Intimidation, by the way, is one of the primary purposes for the use of
> torture around the world. The message to all of us is: This is what will
> happen to you if you emulate the Wikileaks model. It is a model that is so
> dangerous because it is so simple: People who obtain sensitive information
> from their governments or companies transfer that information to
> Wikileaks,
> but the whistleblower remains  anonymous. The reaction shows how great the
> threat is perceived to be: Four democratic countries joined forces – the
> U.S., Ecuador, Sweden and the UK – to leverage their power to portray one
> man as a monster so that he could later be burned at the stake without any
> outcry. The case is a huge scandal and represents the failure of Western
> rule of law.
> If Julian Assange is convicted, it will be a death sentence for freedom of
> the press."
>
> https://www.republik.ch/2020/01/31/nils-melzer-about-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, 29 Jan 2020 11:25:34 +0000
>   Kai Frederik Lorentzen <lorentzen at hotmail.de> wrote:
> >
> > + 28 January 2020. The Parliamentary Assembly of the
> >Council of Europe (PACE) has called on member states to
> >oppose the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian
> >Assange to the United States and resolve that “he must be
> >promptly released.” Assange is fighting extradition to
> >the United States in an unprecedented Espionage Act
> >prosecution for journalistic activity. His extradition
> >hearing opens at Woolwich Crown Court in London on 24
> >February 2020 ... +
> >
> >
> https://bridgesforfreedom.media/council-of-europes-parliamentary-assembly-calls-for-assanges-prompt-release/
>
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>