99 Brazilian parliamentarians of five political parties have signed a letter on Tuesday (11/04) addressed to the US Congress, demanding the withdrawal of all charges against journalist Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks.
The letter was also introduced this afternoon into the Human Rights Commission of the Brazilian Congress and received by MP Luizianne Lins, who requested the HR commission to lead a parliamentary campaign nationally and internationally for Assange's freedom. She also committed to gathering new adhesions of other Members of Parliament. The action comes on the date of the fourth anniversary of Assange's illegal arrest in the United Kingdom, with the demand "Biden, drop the charges" (#BidenDropTheCharges).
The Brazilian Government and Congress have last year officially recognised Assange as a political prisoner and raised great concerns about the implications of his extradition and indictment for press freedom worldwide. Last November President Lula received the WikiLeaks delegation in support of Assange's immediate release and condemning his political persecution. A day later, the Brazilian Congress passed a resolution urging the immediate release of Assange. In December the Human Rights Commission of the Brazilian Senate invited WL's Chief Editor, Kristinn Hrafnsson as the main speaker on press freedom to address the House. "It is public policy of this Government to defend Assange's freedom, as Brazil does not support any kind of political imprisonment", stated MP Reginaldo Lopez in an interview on the day of Lula's inauguration.
The letter recalls the political circumstances and rights violations committed against the Australian journalist, who is in poor health. It debunks the argument that this is a legal proceeding to be addressed by the UK and US national courts and recognises Assange's political persecution with impacts on press freedom worldwide. The signatories urge American authorities to follow their own extradition agreement by dropping the charges and stopping Assange's extradition, as a way to defend the freedom of the press and expression around the world.
The Australian journalist has published a series of classified documents from the US government and its allies on WikiLeaks. Among the millions of materials published by the platform are documents revealing war crimes and torture camps in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Assange has been held in London's Belmarsh maximum security prison since 2019, awaiting extradition to the US, where he will be tried for espionage and could be sentenced to serve 175 years.
If Assange is convicted for the publications in WikiLeaks, the exercise of journalism will be criminalised, threatening the actions of receiving and publishing truthful and public interest information.
Click here for the full content of the letter
Edited by: Rodrigo Durão Coelho
