Julian Assange Sentenced to 50 Weeks
A year in prison for skipping bail seems severe to me.
May the authorities come into the understanding that exposure of crimes is in the public interest. Whistle-blowers, outside of political alliances, should be protected when their intent is the public good.
The courts are supposed to represent justice, no bias. I noted the comments were not coming from neutrality. That is why we need international courts with power to try cases where there are political interests involved who seek to sway justice their way.
The problem that confronts society and whistle-blowers is the courts being corporatised (financed by private banks) then privatised. The private sector is not more ethical and definitely does not work in the public interest. So when they sell off public assets this actually means that private interests have influence in politics. As you wake up you realise things are not what they seem. It is ultimately about power and the maintenance of the status quo. This is why nothing changes.
Refer link https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/courts-to-be-privatised-in-radical-justice-shake-up-3vj7jkbtwrb
It is the private corporations and elite that are running the show.
Corruption grows in the absence of public oversight. This means that people can be set up in the criminal justice system and to go to jail is profitable for those running jails. So there is an interest in filling the jails.
This is how the scales tip over. This is how the essence of Justice is lost to the highest bidder or those with power. I am seeing very clearly today the game. However, what I do know from a peace perspective is as corruption grows the actual system dismantles. The very power fighting to stay in position will collapse eventually. Gandhi spoke of tyranny and he said it always falls. I know this is true as the negativity undermines and catalyses dis-order. Western cultures are losing their sense of values and morality as business becomes the religious doctrine with no limits to growth.
The issue of bail is interesting when you explore bail arrangements in the United States, the Guardian wrote a piece on the uneven playing field of courts and bail and that the majority cannot afford to pay bail. Some are in jail up to a year which is considered harsh given no sentence has occurred. So Julian being held for nearly a year is to buy time so they can mount a case and have him extradited, would be my view. I do not agree with the United States trying him as they are not a neutral third party. It would have to be a International Criminal Court that has no allegiance to US, UK or Sweden. The case in Sweden was dropped, it appears it may be vexatious to criminalise him. I did note the Guardian stated that the Swedish were not able to formally charge him as the reason for dropping the charges and are considering reopening. I am concerned at him being set up as I have seen this is a practice to silence dissent, which is anti-democratic. It is wise to be cautious.
Here is the Guardian’s article about bail:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/14/america-bail-system-law-rich-poor
It is truth that sets all free. Better to be on the side of what is ethical than uphold what is not.
At the end of each person’s life they will be shown their life. It is then they that will see their own fear and how it played out in this game of life. There are learnings on all side but intent behind one’s actions suggests malicious or beneficial.
Julian has suffered for revealing secrets of those in power and revealing the true face through cables, activities funded by the public or actions unaccountable to the public. Public representation is taking actions that serve the ultimate good of the public.
As in all conflict, one party will see an enemy of the state other parties will see a hero. The levy of this will be the good that comes out of it. I believe it is to awaken the public to the corruption in governments coopted by other interests.
Life has its own wisdom and there are no mistakes in my book of changes.
I admire men with courage and driven by ethics. He gave me faith that there are people willing to stand for something more than money and status. We need more whistle-blowers otherwise our societies will be sold off and we will have no rights. This means setting aside the Magna Carta, the Rights of Man, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Bill of Rights and true freedoms that many have fought hard to establish. If democracy falls the young people will inherit a legacy that does not bode well for them. That is my deepest concern and experience. I do however, see the light in the dark. Truth is that light. I send you light.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/courts-to-be-privatised-in-radical-justice-shake-up-3vj7jkbtwrb
Julian Assange: Wikileaks co-founder jailed over bail breach
Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange has been sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for breaching his bail conditions.
The 47-year-old was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act last month after his arrest at the Ecuadorian Embassy.
He took refuge in the London embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over sexual assault allegations, which he has denied.
In a letter read to the court, Assange said he had found himself “struggling with difficult circumstances”.
He apologised to those who “consider I’ve disrespected them”, a packed Southwark Crown Court heard.
“I did what I thought at the time was the best or perhaps the only thing that I could have done,” he said.
In mitigation, Mark Summers QC said his client was “gripped” by fears of rendition to the US over the years because of his work with whistle-blowing website Wikileaks.
“As threats rained down on him from America, they overshadowed everything,” he said.
Sentencing him, Judge Deborah Taylor told Assange it was difficult to envisage a more serious example of the offence.
“By hiding in the embassy you deliberately put yourself out of reach, while remaining in the UK,” she said.
She said this had “undoubtedly” affected the progress of the Swedish proceedings.
His continued residence at the embassy and bringing him to justice had cost taxpayers £16m, she added.
“Whilst you may have had fears as to what may happen to you, nonetheless you had a choice, and the course of action you chose was to commit this offence,” she concluded.
As Assange was taken down to the cells, he raised a fist in defiance to his supporters in the public gallery behind him.
They raised their fists in solidarity and directed shouts of “shame on you” towards the court.
Speaking outside court, Wikileaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said the sentence was an “outrage”.
The extradition process was now the “big fight” and would be “a question of life and death” for Assange, he said.
“It’s also a question of life and death for a major journalist principle,” he told reporters.
Assange’s letter of apology in full
I apologise unreservedly to those who consider that I have disrespected them by the way I have pursued my case.
This is not what I wanted or intended.
I found myself struggling with terrifying circumstances for which neither I nor those from whom I sought advice could work out any remedy.
I did what I thought at the time was the best and perhaps the only thing that could be done – which I hoped might lead to a legal resolution being reached between Ecuador and Sweden that would protect me from the worst of my fears.
I regret the course that this took; the difficulties were instead compounded and impacted upon very many others.
Whilst the difficulties I now face may have become even greater, nevertheless it is right for me to say this now.
Assange now faces US federal conspiracy charges related to one of the largest leaks of government secrets.
The UK will decide whether to extradite Assange to the US in response to allegations that he conspired with former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to download classified databases.
He faces up to five years in a US prison if convicted.
Wikileaks has published thousands of classified documents covering everything from the film industry to national security and war.
At the scene
By BBC correspondent Andy Moore, at Southwark Crown Court
As Julian Assange arrived at court from Belmarsh High Security prison, photographers got a picture of him defiantly pumping his fist.
He’s still got a beard but it’s been trimmed – it’s not the white, bushy beard he was wearing when he was hauled out of the Ecuadorean Embassy last month.
There’s big international interest, and more than a dozen TV cameras outside.
Journalists had to queue for two hours before the case opened to get a ticket to Court Number One, or to an overflow court where there was a videolink to the live proceedings.
Supporters of Assange are outside court making their voices heard – one has been reading from her notes saying Assange is a political prisoner.
Australian-born Assange was dramatically arrested by UK police on 11 April after Ecuador abruptly withdrew its asylum.
At a court hearing that same day, he was remanded in custody and called a “narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interest” by district judge Michael Snow.
Days later, Swedish prosecutors said they were considering reopening the investigation into rape and sexual assault allegations against him.
At the time, Assange said he had had entirely consensual sex with two women while on a trip to Stockholm to give a lecture.
Prosecutors dropped the rape investigation in 2017 because they were unable to formally notify him of allegations while he was staying in the embassy.
Two other charges of molestation and unlawful coercion had to be dropped in 2015 because time had run out.
More than 70 UK MPs and peers have signed a letter urging Home Secretary Sajid Javid to ensure Assange faces authorities in Sweden if they want his extradition.