News Outlets Break the Silence on Julian Assange

An open letter from the “Editors and Publishers” of five major news publications worldwide — the New York Times, the Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, and El País, calls on the U.S. government to end the unjust prosecution of Julian Assange. After recalling that their outlets had initially published Assange’s leaked documents in 2010, which then led to the attacks on him, they say: “We come together now to express our grave concerns about the continued prosecution of Julian Assange for obtaining and publishing classified materials.” They further assert that “This indictment sets a dangerous precedent, and threatens to undermine America’s First Amendment and the freedom of the press.”

The letter continues: “Obtaining and disclosing sensitive information when necessary in the public interest is a core part of the daily work of journalists. If that work is criminalized, our public discourse and our democracies are made significantly weaker.” “Publishing is not a crime,” they conclude at the end.

We don’t know why these self-righteous “editors and publishers” took so long to intervene publicly on behalf of Julian Assange, who has suffered many long years of psychological and physical torture, but better late than never.