SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
International jurist Baltasar Garzon has joined the legal team for Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks. (AFP/File, Dominique Faget)
Famed Spanish Lawyer Baltasar Garzon to Lead Assange Legal Team
Garzon expresses grave concern for actions being taken against Wikileaks founder
Jul 25, 2012
Julian Assange, founder of the whistleblower portal and media website WikiLeaks, has hired famed Spanish lawyer Baltasar Garzon to spearhead his legal team as he seeks political asylum in Ecuador, the country's foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, said on Tuesday.
Wikileaks confirmed that Garzon joined the legal team and in a statement said the international jurist -- well-known in human rights circles for issuing an arrest warrant for Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet -- recently met recently with Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in Lonon, where he remains pending a response to his asylum request.
"The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the new legal strategy which will defend both WikiLeaks and Julian Assange from the existing abuse of process; expose the arbitrary, extrajudicial actions by the international financial system which target Julian Assange and WikiLeaks specifically," said the statement.
Wikileaks went on to say that despite been imprisoned, fiscally blockaded, and placed under house arrest for over 650 days, Mr. Assange has not been charged with an offense in any country.
Garzon, the statement added, will strive to "show how the secret US processes against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have compromised and contaminated other legal processes, including the extradition process against Mr. Assange."
Assange, who has been in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for over a month, enraged Washington and other world leaders in 2010 when his website published secret US diplomatic cables that exposed the inner thinking of some of the world's most corrupt governments. Previously, Wikileaks had released a trove of US military files, including video footage of US soldiers gunning down innocent civilians in Iraq, among them a Reuters photographer and others who rushed to the scene to help the wounded.
Assange is wanted for questioning in Sweden in cases of sexual assault. He denies any wrongdoing, but contends that Sweden has not provided any assurances that if he submits to questioning he would not subsequently be re-extradited to the United States to stand trial for dubious "espionage" charges.
Garzon, according to Wikileaks, has expressed serious concerns regarding the lack of safeguards and transparency whith which actions are being taken against Julian Assange, and the harassment he is being subjected to which has irreparable effects on his physical and mental wellbeing.
"The threats against his person are further aggravated by the complicit behaviour of the Swedish and U.K. governments, who are wrongfully abrogating his rights," the group said.
# # #
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Julian Assange, founder of the whistleblower portal and media website WikiLeaks, has hired famed Spanish lawyer Baltasar Garzon to spearhead his legal team as he seeks political asylum in Ecuador, the country's foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, said on Tuesday.
Wikileaks confirmed that Garzon joined the legal team and in a statement said the international jurist -- well-known in human rights circles for issuing an arrest warrant for Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet -- recently met recently with Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in Lonon, where he remains pending a response to his asylum request.
"The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the new legal strategy which will defend both WikiLeaks and Julian Assange from the existing abuse of process; expose the arbitrary, extrajudicial actions by the international financial system which target Julian Assange and WikiLeaks specifically," said the statement.
Wikileaks went on to say that despite been imprisoned, fiscally blockaded, and placed under house arrest for over 650 days, Mr. Assange has not been charged with an offense in any country.
Garzon, the statement added, will strive to "show how the secret US processes against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have compromised and contaminated other legal processes, including the extradition process against Mr. Assange."
Assange, who has been in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for over a month, enraged Washington and other world leaders in 2010 when his website published secret US diplomatic cables that exposed the inner thinking of some of the world's most corrupt governments. Previously, Wikileaks had released a trove of US military files, including video footage of US soldiers gunning down innocent civilians in Iraq, among them a Reuters photographer and others who rushed to the scene to help the wounded.
Assange is wanted for questioning in Sweden in cases of sexual assault. He denies any wrongdoing, but contends that Sweden has not provided any assurances that if he submits to questioning he would not subsequently be re-extradited to the United States to stand trial for dubious "espionage" charges.
Garzon, according to Wikileaks, has expressed serious concerns regarding the lack of safeguards and transparency whith which actions are being taken against Julian Assange, and the harassment he is being subjected to which has irreparable effects on his physical and mental wellbeing.
"The threats against his person are further aggravated by the complicit behaviour of the Swedish and U.K. governments, who are wrongfully abrogating his rights," the group said.
# # #
Julian Assange, founder of the whistleblower portal and media website WikiLeaks, has hired famed Spanish lawyer Baltasar Garzon to spearhead his legal team as he seeks political asylum in Ecuador, the country's foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, said on Tuesday.
Wikileaks confirmed that Garzon joined the legal team and in a statement said the international jurist -- well-known in human rights circles for issuing an arrest warrant for Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet -- recently met recently with Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in Lonon, where he remains pending a response to his asylum request.
"The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the new legal strategy which will defend both WikiLeaks and Julian Assange from the existing abuse of process; expose the arbitrary, extrajudicial actions by the international financial system which target Julian Assange and WikiLeaks specifically," said the statement.
Wikileaks went on to say that despite been imprisoned, fiscally blockaded, and placed under house arrest for over 650 days, Mr. Assange has not been charged with an offense in any country.
Garzon, the statement added, will strive to "show how the secret US processes against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have compromised and contaminated other legal processes, including the extradition process against Mr. Assange."
Assange, who has been in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for over a month, enraged Washington and other world leaders in 2010 when his website published secret US diplomatic cables that exposed the inner thinking of some of the world's most corrupt governments. Previously, Wikileaks had released a trove of US military files, including video footage of US soldiers gunning down innocent civilians in Iraq, among them a Reuters photographer and others who rushed to the scene to help the wounded.
Assange is wanted for questioning in Sweden in cases of sexual assault. He denies any wrongdoing, but contends that Sweden has not provided any assurances that if he submits to questioning he would not subsequently be re-extradited to the United States to stand trial for dubious "espionage" charges.
Garzon, according to Wikileaks, has expressed serious concerns regarding the lack of safeguards and transparency whith which actions are being taken against Julian Assange, and the harassment he is being subjected to which has irreparable effects on his physical and mental wellbeing.
"The threats against his person are further aggravated by the complicit behaviour of the Swedish and U.K. governments, who are wrongfully abrogating his rights," the group said.
# # #
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.