Belmarsh Tribunal, Sydney Uni, 4 March 2023 #FreeAssange

On 4 March 2023, at Sydney University’s Great Hall, Australia will host the fifth sitting of the Belmarsh Tribunal. Speakers include:

4 March 2023 — Saturday — 6:30 arrival for a 7pm start
The Great Hall — Sydney University
Stream Online or Attend in Person … RSVP here

Julian Assange, the Australian publisher who founded WikiLeaks, faces 175 years in prison if extradited from the Belmarsh Prison where he is currently held in the United Kingdom.

Assange’s case is the first time in history that a publisher has been indicted under the US Espionage Act.

Inspired by the Russell-Sartre Tribunals of the Vietnam War, the Belmarsh Tribunal brings together a range of expert witnesses — from lawyers to journalists to parliamentarians, union officials, whistleblowers and human rights defenders — to present evidence of this attack on publishers, to seek justice for the crimes they expose, and to demand the Biden Administration cease this prosecution.

Since its launch in 2020, the Progressive International has hosted four Belmarsh Tribunals, convening parliamentarians and public figures in a virtual tribunal (2020), at Church House at Westminster (2021), in New York City (2022) and in Washington DC (2023).

We have taken expert testimony from members such as Brasilian President Lula da Silva, whistleblower Edward Snowden, and Guantánamo Bay detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi.

The Sydney chapter of the Tribunal will add a uniquely Australian voice to the global demand to free Julian Assange.

On the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq and the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the United States, there has never been a more important time to raise our voice in union.

Julian Assange has spent nearly four years in the UK’s highest security prison. Now he must be freed.

4 March 2023 — Saturday — 6:30 arrival for a 7pm start
The Great Hall — Sydney University
Stream Online or Attend in Person … RSVP here

Also on Assange:

MEAA, Australian journalist union’s efforts to #FreeAssange

Julian Assange, Free Speech & Democracy: Lawyer Jennifer Robinson

Publishers call for release of Julian Assange #FreeAssange

Did the CIA plot to kidnap & assassinate Julian Assange?

Assange: US Soldiers from Wikileaks ‘Collateral Murder’ Video Apologize

Michelle Grattan: Greg Barns on the battle to free Julian Assange #FreeAssange

Belmarsh Tribunal, Sydney Uni, 4 March 2023 #FreeAssange

4 March 2023 — Saturday — 6:30 arrival for a 7pm start
The Great Hall — Sydney University
Stream Online or Attend in Person … RSVP here

On 4 March, the historic Belmarsh Tribunal reconvenes for its fifth sitting in Sydney, Australia.

Inspired by the Russell-Sartre Tribunals of the Vietnam War, the Belmarsh Tribunal brings together a range of expert witnesses — from lawyers to journalists to parliamentarians, whistleblowers and human rights defenders — to present evidence of this attack on Australian publisher Julian Assange, to seek justice for the crimes he exposed and to demand the Biden Administration cease this prosecution.

The Sydney Belmarsh Tribunal – organised by the Progressive International in partnership with the Wau Holland Foundation – will be co-chaired by Mark Davis and Mary Kostakidis. Testifying on the expert panel will be CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou.

In 2012, Mr Kiriakou was convicted of passing classified information and exposing the ‘waterboarding’ torture of suspected al-Qaeda prisoners. He was sentenced to a 30 month prison sentence.

“When American authorities say that Julian Assange will receive a fair trial, I can tell you from first-hand experience that they’re lying.  

No national security defendant has ever won a case in the Eastern District of Virginia.  And Julian’s ‘jury of his peers’ would be made up of people who work for, or who have relatives and friends who work for, the CIA, the FBI, the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, and dozens of Intelligence Community contractors.  

That’s why the Justice Department sought the case there.  The fix is in”

says Mr Kiriakou.

Since its launch in 2020, the Progressive International has hosted four Belmarsh Tribunals, convening parliamentarians and public figures in a virtual tribunal (2020), at Church House at Westminster (2021), at the People’s Forum in New York City (2022) and at the National Press Club in Washington DC (2023).

They have taken expert testimony from members such as Brasilian President Lula da Silva, whistleblower Edward Snowden, philosopher Noam Chomsky and Guantánamo Bay detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi.

The Sydney chapter of the Tribunal will add a uniquely Australian voice to the global demand to free Julian Assange. On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, Australia’s press freedom reform debate, Prime Minister Albanese’s visit to the United States and forthcoming Australian visits by Presidents Obama and Biden, there has never been a more important time to raise our voice in union.

Julian Assange, the Australian publisher who founded WikiLeaks, now faces 175 years in prison if extradited from the Belmarsh Prison where he is currently held in the United Kingdom. Assange’s case is the first time in history that a publisher has been indicted under the US Espionage Act.

“US Justice Department prosecutors have promised that, if convicted, Julian would not be sent to solitary confinement or to an oppressive Communications Management Unit.  They’re lying.  Prosecutors have literally nothing to do with, and no influence on, where a person is sent to prison.  That is entirely up to the federal Bureau of Prisons.  If Julian were to be convicted, he would likely be sent to a dungeon in a maximum-security penitentiary never to be heard from again.  That’s not justice.  It’s torture, something for which the United States is famous”

says Mr Kiriakou.

Saturday 4 March — 6:30 arrival for a 7pm start
The Great Hall — Sydney University