Hi everyone, I could not sit still after watching the law of our country somehow become the next manipulated thing of our time. I went along to the sentencing hearing of Julian Assange the famous creator of Wikileaks Publications, that brought the world many news items, Collateral Damage, and leaks concerning the status of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. I was there mainly to take some photographs and to hear the summing up of the judge, Judge Deborah Taylor, at the Southwark Crown Court. The sitting was over one hour long, and the court was packed full I had not managed to get there earlier. Fragile looking Jen Robinson, came out with Kristinn Hrafnsson, the editor of Wikileaks currently, with the story that all though the defense had made a plea for leniency, due to the extended detention of Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy, she the judge had put the blame for his isolation on his own choice of action of skipping bail conditions seven years ago. The case had collapsed over the sexual allegations from the prosecution service of Sweden. There was no longer a case to answer and the formality of charging Julian Assange with a form of broken law, was really the only goal of the day. Most cases of skipped bail have only half this sentence if a sentence at all, and mostly a fine or a small amount of prison time. Kristinn, quotes the recent case of the man who had allowed his girlfriend the controls of a speed boat, which caused the accident they were both involved in, and the girlfriend’s death, so he stood accused of manslaughter. The boyfriend had tried to run from a sentence, but, was given six months jail for skipping bail. So Julian Assange is now confronted with the whole ordeal of yet one more year of detention or so famously a period of 50 weeks, but this time behind bars. I have never seen a more persecuted person before and in our country this is happening. The crowd that had managed to get seats in the court, all yelled ‘Shame on you!’ To the Judge for making such a long sentence. The whole ordeal over, Julian was back in the van and going back to spend the night at Belmarsh a high security facility usually for the most dangerous criminals and ‘terrorists’ .. we can guess some of who influenced this treatment. America had its secrets widely published and was out for some retribution it would seem. However, most of what was published is now declassified, and the leaks were about human rights abuses of power like torture and extraordinary rendition..this means allowing your prisoner to be taken to a foreign land for torture as our own laws do not allow it. You just need to read Craig Murray’s book on his time as an Ambassador to see what the torture sometimes entailed, and confessions under torture are generally unreliable. Some of the nations did do waterboarding, some however, also put a person into boiling water, where they either died instantly or were badly scolded. It is in my opinion the right of the people to know how their governments are using their taxes and how they behave in these times of trial. Julian Assange has been a totally selfless individual who has put his whole life on the line to let the world know TRUTH. It does not take a genius to see that locking him up is a means of both torture and impact to the whistle blow site. The extradition case that was also raised when Julian Assange was arrested, from America of conspiracy to help Manning commit computer fraud is very flimsy. Manning served her time, and was pardoned by Barrack Obama, but, under Trump she is back in jail for not being willing to testify against Wikileaks Julian Assange. Where is the justice, because the perpetrators of the torture roam free, while the whistle blowers they are given jail time.
kathydasilva 