Tonight both Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange are in jail, both over offences related to the publication of materials specifying US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, and both charged with nothing else at all. No matter what bullshit political and MSM liars try to feed you, that is the simple truth. Manning and Assange are true heroes of our time, and are suffering for it.
If a Russian opposition politician were dragged out by armed police, and within three hours had been convicted on a political charge by a patently biased judge with no jury, with a lengthy jail sentence to follow, can you imagine the Western media reaction to that kind of kangaroo court? Yet that is exactly what just happened in London.
District Judge Michael Snow is a disgrace to the bench who deserves to be infamous well beyond his death. He displayed the most plain and open prejudice against Assange in the 15 minutes it took for him to hear the case and declare Assange guilty, in a fashion which makes the dictators’ courts I had witnessed, in Babangida’s Nigeria or Karimov’s Uzbekistan, look fair and reasonable, in comparison to the gross charade of justice conducted by Michael Snow.
One key fact gave away Snow’s enormous prejudice. Julian Assange said nothing during the whole brief proceedings, other than to say “Not guilty” twice, and to ask a one sentence question about why the charges were changed midway through this sham “trial”. Yet Judge Michael Snow condemned Assange as “narcissistic”. There was nothing that happened in Snow’s brief court hearing that could conceivably have given rise to that opinion. It was plainly something he brought with him into the courtroom, and had read or heard in the mainstream media or picked up in his club. It was in short the very definition of prejudice, and “Judge” Michael Snow and his summary judgement is a total disgrace.
We wrapped up the final Wikileaks and legal team meeting at 21.45 tonight and thereafter Kristian Hrafnsson and I had dinner together. The whole team, including Julian, is energised rather than downhearted. At last there is no more hiding for the pretend liberals behind ludicrous Swedish allegations or bail jumping allegations, and the true motive – revenge for the Chelsea Manning revelations – is now completely in the open.
To support the persecution of Assange in these circumstances is to support absolute state censorship of the internet. It is to support the claim that any journalist who receives and publishes official material which indicates US government wrongdoing, can be punished for its publication. Furthermore this US claim involves an astonishing boost to universal jurisdiction. Assange was nowhere near the USA when he published the documents, but nonetheless US courts are willing to claim jurisdiction. This is a threat to press and internet freedom everywhere.
These are scary times. But those may also be the most inspiring of times.
UPDATE
We are reassembling Wikileaks/Julian legal and media team from 10am Friday in Doughty Street Chambers. I and others will be available for further media interviews from then. I can be reached on 07979 691085.
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https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2019/04/chelsea-and-julian-are-in-jail-history-trembles/
Good luck to you and Julian – what can be done about judges such as this clown?
The main problem is the corrupt “justice” system. An individual, like the judge in this case, might be an arsehole but he is only a cog, a replaceable part that can easily be swapped out for another one.
“Easy swaps” take time: meanwhile lets not follow the “Befehl ist Befehl” logic of Nazi defendants; every “clog” in this UK process will add to his/ her Karma apart from public image – no escaping.
If only he were a “clog”, rather than a “cog”. The more an unjust system is clogged, the better.
CM, you mention “armed policel being involved in the arrest. Were these additional to the normal Diplomatic Protection officers, or regular armed officers. I have studied the video of Julian’s eviction, and although there did seem to be rather more officers with flat topped peaked headgear, the type favoured by Diplomatic Protection, I viewed no weapons.
Could people who were present at the time also comment please. Many thanks, DiggerUK…_
Thanks Craig..
We All Know here..that they get away with such Criminal goings on, Only because of BBC .. Sky.. Ch 4 Ect
Thank you too for being in London for Julian.
If you get Back in time for Isle of Bute.. See Ya there.
Holy Week, with Good Friday and Easter Sunday is about to begin. I wonder if the decisionmakers thought about that.
This site’s resident troll thinks it is inappropriate to compare Assange with Jesus. I beg to differ.
Ridiculous comparison if you ask me. Such statements will not help one bit. Indeed, it will only draw mockery and worse.
Uncle Sam is without cloths; an ugly sight for all others, but he seems not to notice.
They all knew what a gangster gnome he had become the last decades but from now on others should be spared of his hollow speeches about liberty, freedom or rule of law.
The schadenfreude and jeering on display in MSM comment forums and on Twitter is utterly revolting. These people, who fell for every propaganda trick in the book and were easily tricked into turning on Assange, are now acting smug and self-righteous and believe they are on the right side of history. Particularly loathsome are the “journalists” that threw Assange under the bus after using WikiLeaks provided scoops to boost their brand and win awards. A sad day.
Not all comment forums. I learn from a comment on Moon of Alabama that the comments on the Daily Mail site have been overwhelmingly pro-Assange.
lysias
I was surprised when the majority of comments on the Mail site during the Salisbury fiasco were anti government BS. It was quite heartening actually.
To think that I may actually start reading the Mail, well, it shocks me.
Very true Baalbek,
“For the army of smug liberals, many of them leading columnists in newspapers such as the Guardian in the UK, which exploited Assange when he first came to prominence before ruthlessly turning on and abandoning him, that noise they hear right now is the death rattle of their collective moral conscience. For such people, ideological footsoldiers of a machine that wears the cloak of democracy while practicing tyranny, Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, and Edward Snowden are agents of truth in a time of untruth.”
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/456239-assange-arrest-police-extradition/
Couldn’t agree more with you Jack.
Some newspapers are reporting he faces “decades” in prison in the US, while others report the max sentence he faces is ‘five years’ if convicted on the conspiracy charge . A senior figure, formerly at the CPS, speaking on Sky News (didn’t catch his name) said, they can’t simply add to the charge sheet after he’s extradited, but then he added the caveat, ‘unless there is a formal request put to the UK and the UK agrees’, which, at least under the current govt, is almost a given they would.
This is crucial.
“they can’t simply add to the charge sheet after he’s extradited, but then he added the caveat, ‘unless there is a formal request put to the UK and the UK agrees’ ”
It is clear the America has wanted Assange since at least the Swedish accusations. Considering the amount of string pulling America has been doing in the background over these years I doubt anything has been left to chance. I don’t believe that America will be satisfied with a 5 year sentence.
Therefore Assange will be extradited to the USA.
He will face further charges and be put away for a long time. The UK will of course agree to this.
Conspiracy theory time 🙂 How are judges selected for a case? I believe that it is mostly down to being at the right court house at the right time. Maybe the Easter break was partially chosen as many Judges will be on annual leave now the schools are on Easter holidays…The remaining Judges, like Judge Snow are particularly keen!
Glenn Greenwald (11 April 2019):
“The @ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] warns the attempt to prosecute Julian Assange in connection with publishing “would be unprecedented and unconstitutional, and would open the door to criminal investigations of other news organizations” & “set an especially dangerous precedent””
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1116317441133613056
@ jmg April 12, 2019 at 04:15
The reason MSM aren’t bothered is because they are all controlled by the PTB, so have no fear they will become victims.
The NYT connects Assange arrest to the last US presidential election which is correct in itself, but they do it in an obscure way. Various info left the DNC headquarters unauthorized, some of it inconsequential material for these elections that was probably hacked (Podesta e-mails – by some Russians?) but the bombshell about Bernie Sanders’ Primary betrail by HRC was leaked on a USB stick to Wikileaks by a DNC staffer. Non of any had connection to candidate Trump, but all were published by Wikileaks. This “shell game” is also the modus operandi of the FBI and the Mueller investigation, to damage president Trump.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/us/politics/wikileaks-clinton-emails-russia-trump.html
This new US hacking indictment for Assange regarding 2010 is a clear sign that some of Deep State want to twist Wikileaks from a leak publisher into (Russian) hacking central.
They got confused: the NSA is hacking epicenter (Snowden leaked that).
Jeremy Corbyn (11 April 2019):
“The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government.”
https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/1116424423953903616
This may explain the timing – the US needed this to happen before any Corbyn government could be formed
jmg
Thanks for that twitter feed. About 6 comments down, Deborah posts a very interesting fact about one of the young women involved in the alleged charges against Julian.
I have posted before, that originally the two women went to the police station in Sweden because they wanted Julian to take a test for STD’s, NOT to allege any assault.
These were totally fabricated charges by the Swedish judiciary.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wikileaks-assange-charges/special-report-std-fears-sparked-case-against-wikileaks-boss-idUSTRE6B669H20101207
Yes indeed, I think it’s been referred to here once or twice in the past.
To have one dim witted magistrate Emma Arbuthnot presiding over Assange’s case may be regarded as a misfortune, but to have corrupt judge Michael Snow preening over Assange looks like utter carelessness.
or the Machiavellian manipulation that it probably is.
he’s a martyr , said the CIA (and hints at a further attack for the DNC data)…
https://www.ozy.com/opinion/former-cia-chief-we-must-keep-julian-assange-from-becoming-a-martyr/93796
oh, and spying (by us) isnt spying…
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/04/11/comey_ive_never_thought_of_electronic_surveillance_as_spying.html
“The whole team, including Julian, is energised rather than downhearted…”
This is great news! I can believe this, and it’s so great the support he’s receiving. Corbyn was just…wow!
They are not pretend liberals. This is what the last few years have revealed liberals to be, on both sides of the Atlantic.
Joel;
A liberal is someone who acts inleberal ways, which includes supporting free speech, freedom from arbitary arrest etc. so somone who does not support Assange in this is by deffinition not a liberal.
That may be one dictionary definition (an extremely generous one), but I’m talking about those who present themselves as and are generally accepted to be liberals. Namely, the vast majority of the political and media class.
Actually Johnny’s definition is the correct one. No matter how many imbeciles and liars try to twist the meaning, that is the correct one.
To refresh minds, here is Bertrand Russell’s “Liberal Decalogue”, as good a definition of liberalism as you will find.
1. Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
2. Do not think it worth while to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.
3. Never try to discourage thinking for you are sure to succeed.
4. When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your husband or your children, endeavour to overcome it by argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory.
5. Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.
6. Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.
7. Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
8. Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent that in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
9. Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.
10. Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool’s paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.
Carlos Latuff has Theresa as Trump’s poodle doing as she’s told. The look suits her.
https://mobile.twitter.com/LatuffCartoons/status/1116459511987019777?
‘Michael Paul Snow, 45, has been appointed a District Judge at Horseferry Road Magistrates’ Court. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1983 and appointed an acting Stipendiary Magistrate in 1998 and a deputy District Judge (Magistrates’ Court), in 2000, on the unification of the District Bench.’
May 2004 The Times/Appointments
The round up extends to Quito.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/apr/12/julian-assange-ecuador-arrests-man-with-alleged-links-to-wikileaks
Moreno will get his just reward.
I’m pleased indeed to read that the spirits of Julian and his circle are up and my dearest wish is to see him free, but I see no grounds for hope. The US wants him and they will get him. If millions of demonstrators turned out around the world to demand Julian’s release, nothing would change. Remember the huge anti-Iraq invasion demonstrations? They changed nothing. History shows that TPTB get what they want and they become increasingly brazen, especially now that they own the MSM and are fast working on shutting down/shutting out alternative sites.
“History shows that TPTB get what they want”
Depends how far you want to go back or where you look. All this silly defeatism isn’t helping and is actually misguided. Parts of the establishment have been at war with each other throughout the last decade. It’s the job of the press make it all seem inevitable. Bollocks to that.
There may well come a tipping point. Many trends appear as if they will continue forever, but none ever do.
One day – and I think TPTB are acutely aware of this – they will go one step too far, and find that they have entered a minefield.
“Every tyranny must necessarily be grounded upon general popular acceptance. In short, the bulk of the people themselves, for whatever reason, acquiesce in their own subjection….If we led our lives according to the ways intended by nature and the lessons taught by her, we should be intuitively obedient to our parents; later we should adopt reason as our guide and become slaves to nobody”.
– Etienne De La Boetie, “The Politics of Obedience” (1552)
“Nothing appears more surprising to those, who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few; and the implicit submission, with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers. When we enquire by what means this wonder is effected, we shall find, that, as Force is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and most popular”.
– David Hume, “Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary. Essay 4 : Of The First Principles of Government”
I have been looking up District Judge Michael Snow.
Two years ago, his ruling protected Blair from prosecution over the Iraq War.
‘The most senior judge in England and Wales will hear a case attempting to overturn a ban on prosecuting Tony Blair over the Iraq war, the Guardian has learned.
A private criminal prosecution against the former Labour prime minister was blocked in 2016 by Westminster magistrates court when it was ruled Blair would have immunity from any criminal charges.
Tony Blair should be prosecuted over Iraq war, high court hears
But that ruling by the district judge, Michael Snow, will be reviewed on Wednesday before the lord chief justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, and Mr Justice Ouseley.’
https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jul/05/iraq-war-judge-to-review-tony-blair-prosecution-ban
YCNMIU.
I would really like to know how Judges are appointed cases. Who decides?
@ Sharp Ears April 12, 2019 at 06:29
Actually, it looks like it was the other way round, that Snow was in favour of the prosecution: ‘..Tony Blair should be prosecuted over Iraq war, high court hears
But that ruling by the district judge, Michael Snow, will be reviewed on Wednesday before the lord chief justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, and Mr Justice Ouseley.’
@Paul Barbara
April 12, 2019 at 12:10
NO, read the article. Snow upheld the ban on prosecuting Blair for war crimes.
“The most senior judge in England and Wales will hear a case attempting to overturn a ban on prosecuting Tony Blair over the Iraq war, the Guardian has learned.
A private criminal prosecution against the former Labour prime minister was blocked in 2016 by Westminster magistrates court when it was ruled Blair would have immunity from any criminal charges.
Tony Blair should be prosecuted over Iraq war, high court hears
But that ruling by the district judge, Michael Snow, will be reviewed on Wednesday before the lord chief justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, and Mr Justice Ouseley.”
Clear?
.
Wow, that’s just damning. Let’s the biggest war criminal alive escape prosecution, persecutes those who publish said crimes. He’s beginning to shape up like Nazi judge Roland Freisler.
Maybe , wikileaks should have stayed clear of the Vatican
The UK, already US´s arselicker, well down the road to fascism, well down the road to financial collapse, a political laughing stock the world over, is doomed. Every institution in both countries, politics, media, finance, judiciary (as exemplified by this clown Snow, and the Lords trotted out to whitewash UK crimes) are hopelessly corrupt, and there appears to be no way back to sanity.
What we are seeing here are all the signs of the looming economic collapse illustrated as clear as daylight by the declining marginal productivity of debt: https://monetary-metals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Rising-Debt-to-EBITDA.png
Spot on assessment Sanjeev; 40 years of Thatcherite neoliberalism has corrupted every office and function of state.
No exceptions and I’d include the rigging of ballots.
The only way to cleanse this country is to put it to the torch and those riots get ever closer.
Well said, Craig.
Has someone arranged a full medical checkup for Julian yet?
Many Fox Channel viewers in the U.S. will probably be baffled/confused to hear from one of the channels main commentators that Assange is innocent..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE7OfU71Sbk
(+ already over 40k views on youtube)
wow, balanced and potentially honest reporting by fox news, what the hell is going on!!
The timing of the arrest does make sense now after the Mueller conclusions to keep the rhetoric up: Russia = Assange = Trump
Tucker Carlson does appear to make reasonable arguments sometimes on some subjects although more often than not from the same initial assumptions as much of the rest of Fox but as with that clip he sometimes seems to make perfect sense. Possibly to lure some ‘liberals’ to Fox.
I suspect he’s often been used by Fox against many of those who think of themselves as ‘left’ and ‘liberal.’ To herd them away from positions they would naturally take, simply because he’s expressing them on Fox. A sort of informational loss leader. I’ve often heard some form of this (fairly reasonable) comment “If it’s on Fox it’s a lie.” And for a large cross section there does appear to be a manipulable reactionary response to Fox.
Anyway, I was interested to hear that Disney bought most of Fox from Murdoch last month. And Disney are arguably more subtle and accomplished propagandists than Murdoch..
Looking at Jon snow on channel 4 last night it is clear that Britain’s “progressive” media is more opposed to exposure of US war crimes than it is to the Trump administration. Despite all the evidence in his lifetime, for people like Jon Snow the DC psychos are always wearing the white hat. It is frightening when you consider the likely escalation in US war crimes in coming years as its relative decline continues.
This is unspeakably horrible news.
So unspeakable that it wasn’t mentioned in our South African news media.
Well-trained dogs know when not to bark.
.
Ecuador cracks down on ALLEGED friends of Assange – accuse them of trying to destablize Ecuador.!
Sounds like a secret police in a dictatorship.
https://www.rt.com/news/456299-swedish-ecuador-arrest-wikileaks/
…and yes ecuador blames Russian hackers too, you cannot make this up!
Grouse Beater
He hasnt hacked anyone and secondly exposing crimes by the state is different than hacking civilians smartphones for a tabloid.
Not if you have seriously limited brain capacity. You are holding Grouse Beater to the standards of somebody capable of thought.
Not me, an imposter. Craig is alerted.
Real Grouse Beater’s views here: https://wp.me/p4fd9j-nqw
Grouse Beater
Why put words into my mouth? What I said was obvious.
Do you really not understand the differnce between hacking a civilian and their personal life vs distributing facts about warcrimes by the state?
Hello Jack
The bozo you’ve correctly answered is NOT me. I’ve warned Craig.
My thoughts on Assange are here, in an essay published yesterday: https://wp.me/p4fd9j-nqw
It’s clear from your post you are willfully misunderstanding what Assange and wiki leaks did.
Assange exposed war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Chelsea Manning leaked the information.
Assange did not hack – he published.
Don’t be daft Grouse Beater. Chelsea Manning served a long jail sentence for leaking the material, which she cheerfully admits and rightly claims as justified in exposing war crimes. It was not a hack.
Though I must say, if it was a hack that exposed those war crimes – journalists deliberately murdered, children shot in the head etc. – I would support the hack without a moment’s hesitation. But as it happens, it wasn’t. It was a leak, not a hack. Same as the DNC material.
The DNC material, and the strange circumstances surrounding the death of Seth Rich, rumoured to be the leaker, are probably the main motivator of current events ?
Certainly the DNC aspect is the one that has for the first time in my memory managed to unite critical thinkers of both the left and right.
Craig – I never comment on your site – we agree on too much. The Bozo you are answering is a halfwit spook. Zap his account, thanks very much.
My thoughts on Assange are here: https://wp.me/p4fd9j-nqw
You do realize that Chelsea Manning has been out of prison for years now, don’t you? That she ran for the US Senate? How can a person take your opinion seriously when you can’t fact check something so easily available?
Oh dear.
Manning has been incarcerated for the last month after refusing to give evidence to the secret kangaroo court looking for evidence to indict Assange.
Please try and keep up.
For the sake of accuracy, that “secret kangaroo court” is actually a Grand Jury – an archaic structure that allows a federal attorney to force a witness to give evidence on oath, even in the absence of any charge.
Grand Jury proceedings are secret – it is a crime to reveal what happened in a Grand Jury. It is also a crime to refuse to give evidence to a Grand Jury, and another crime again to lie to a Grand Jury.
Manning was therefore properly convicted of refusing to give evidence to a Grand Jury.
What I completely fail to understand is what Manning was doing in the USA in the first place. I mean, that looks like begging to be harrassed.
She’s a US citizen, where would she go and get a visa to go to? Also if you think being overseas protects you from a Grand Jury summons think again. Think not being able to get your passport renewed.
I stood as a character witness for an American colleague during the Post 9/11 Bush years when she was getting UK citizenship precisely so she could not be forced back to America. I expect she repented during Obama but has had cause to value that second passport in the Trump years.
You do know US citizens abroad are still subject to US taxes? The reach is long. They get the Marines to come get them (theoretically) in return for it but. The British Empire used to operate a bit like that, back in the day. So any doubt the US is an imperial power can be put to bed.
Yes, it reminded me of a Soviet style court, slanderous to the defendant, ruthless, brief, a demonstration of the power of the regime rather than any attempt to secure justice or address the law.
Judge Roland Freisler did sentence to–immediate–death German heroes during WWII.
Long Live Weiße Rosen spirit.
I’m an onlooker. Why is Assange so loathed by people
Words like creep used willy nilly. Outside of the rape charges, is there something not being told?
If he gets sent to Sweden to answer those charges ,
Would that silence the critics.
If he gets sent to the US will MSM be silent?
Is he a hero or villain?
Media created that.
Before they began their assaults upon him, he was quite the star of journalism and publishing, and major media worked closely with him, The Guardian, Le Monde, El Pais, The New York Times.
Then for some reason they turned on him and made it their business day and daily to dismantle his reputation.
That worked for a while.
But as the public woke up to the fact that mainstream media were not a reliable source of news or opinion, they began to review everything they’d been told by them.
Amongst many other issues, they came to reevaluate what they’d been told about Assange, and found it wanting.
The msm views didn’t seem to chime with the facts.
That’s why The Guardian now fears its own readers and rarely allows them to comment.
When comments are allowed they’re often forced to close them quickly because ordinary people can see they’re working to interests other than that of ordinary decent people.
And of course this is why the govt is so keen to censor the public as much as possible.
Put simply, their propaganda is no longer working.
I don’t know how many times I’ve replied to comments on various blogs and news sites which talk about ‘charges’ against Julian. Yet again I repeat, Julian Assange was never charged. He was wanted for questioning about allegations. No charges.