Democracy

Protection for Julian Assange - Allow departure to a safe country

15/01/2019

Unofficial Translation of the article at the “Linksfraktion” 12/11/2018

Message from Heike Hänsel, Sevim Dagdelen, Sahra Wagenknecht, December 10th, 2018

36 members of the German Bundestag, the Dutch Parliament and the European Parliament urge UN Secretary General António Guterres, Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno and British Prime Minister Theresa May to “protect” the journalist and founder of the Wikileaks disclosure platform Julian Assange.

n the context of the medical condition of Assange, who has been living in forced asylum at the embassy in London for six years, a “rapid solution” is necessary, says Sahra Wagenknecht, chairman of the parliamentary group “Die Linke” of the German Bundestag, as well as other parliamentarians on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day on December 10th.

The constant and arbitrary threat by Great Britain and the USA, the years of imprisonment, the continuing separation from his family and friends, the prevention of adequate medical care and the recent isolation of Assange since March this year are “serious and outrageous violations of human rights in the middle of Europe”, the protest letter continues. The letter explicitly condemns the threat of the Ecuadorian government to deprive Assange of the protection it has been granted in the embassy rooms, while in the USA a secret arrest warrant against the Australian has become public.

Without legal protection and clarification of its situation Assange is threatened with extradition to an “unpredictable government in the USA”. MEPs call for his immediate release, in conjunction with his departure to a country that is safe for Julian Assange.

Transcript

Berlin/Brussels, December 10th, 2018

Dear Secretary General António Guterres,
Dear President Lenin Moreno,
Dear Prime Minister Theresa May,

More than six years after the beginning of Julian Assange’s arbitrary detention after having sought asylum in the Embassy and in view of the International Human Rights Day on December 10th, we are urging for the unceasing protection of the publisher and founder of Wikileaks, which has reported on war crimes and other serious abuses committed by governments.

We are concerned about Mr Assange’s state of health and call on the
governments of Britain and Ecuador to find a speedy solution.
We condemn the threat by the Ecuadorian government to deprive Assange of the asylum protection he received in the Embassy, while in the U.S., a sealed indictment has been issued against the Australian and Ecuadorian citizen.
We underscore the importance of the advisory opinion given by the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights which commits the Ecuadorian state to work for the well-being of those who have sought protection in diplomatic missions.
We point out that the independent UN working group on arbitrary detention, the UNWGAD, has condemned the prosecution of Mr Assange as an arbitrary prosecution.

Should Mr Assange be put on the street by Ecuador without legal protection and clarification of his situation, an extradition to an unpredictable government in the USA that seeks to prosecute him and potentially sentence him for life could probably no longer be prevented.

The constant and unwonted threat from Britain and the United States, the years of arbitrary detention, the ongoing separation from his family, friends and loved ones, the lack of proper medical care, the most recent isolation of Mr Assange since March of this year; these are indeed very serious and egregious violations of Human Rights, in the heart of Europe.

We therefore call for his immediate release, together with his safe passage to a safe country.

Thank you in advance for your reply.

Sincerely,

Eva Joly, MdE, Member of the European Parliament, France
Stelios Kouloglou, Member of the European Parliament, Greece
Patrick LeHyaric, Member of the European Parliament, France
Sahra Wagenknecht, Member of Parliament, Germany

Gökay Akbulut, Member of Parliament, Germany
Christine Buchholz, Member of Parliament, Germany
Jörg Cezanne, Member of Parliament, Germany
Javier Couso, Member of the European Parliament, Spain
Sevim Dagdelen, Member of Parliament, Germany
Diether Dehm, Member of Parliament, Germany
Jose Inacio Faria, Member of the European Parliament, Portugal
Takis Hadjigeorgiou, Member of the European Parliament, Cyprus
Heike Hänsel, Member of Parliament, Germany
Andrej Hunko, Member of Parliament, Germany
Ulla Jelpke, Member of Parliament, Germany
Sadet Karabulut, Member of the Dutch Parliament, Netherlands
Kostadinka Kuneva, Member of the European Parliament, Greece
Paloma Lopez Bermejo, Member of the European Parliament, Spain
Gesine Lötzsch, Member of Parliament, Germany
António Marinho e Pinto, Member of the European Parliament, Spain
Fabio de Masi, Member of Parliament, Germany
Marisa Matías, Member of the European Parliament, Portugal
Ana Miranda, Member of the European Parliament, Spain
Zaklin Nastic, Member of Parliament, Germany
Alexander Neu, Member of Parliament, Germany
Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Member of the European Parliament, Greece
Helmut Scholz, Member of the European Parliament, Germany
Eva-Maria Schreiber, Member of Parliament, Germany
Maria Lidia Serna Rodríguez, Member of the European Parliament, Spain
Barbara Spinelli, Member of the European Parliament, Italy
Bart Staes, Member of the European Parliament, Belgium
Alexander Ulrich, Member of Parliament, Germany
Miguel Urbán, Member of the European Parliament, Spain
Marie-Christine Vergiat, Member of the European Parliament, France
Kathrin Vogler, Member of Parliament, Germany
Sabine Zimmermann, Member of Parliament, Germany