There have been many public statements made about WikiLeaks and itseditor-in-chief Julian Assange that are factually inaccurate.For example, Prime Minister Julia Gillard: "It's illegal." Attorney GeneralNicola Roxon: "He fled Sweden" and the media generally: "Assange ischarged/facing charges" (in relation to Swedish sex allegations).Some of these inaccurate statements are due to misinformation, but othersare designed to smear Julian, to erode his public support and to discreditWikiLeaks to present the further publishing of uncomfortable truths.Many Australians including leading lawyers, academics and journalistsbelieve WikiLeaks is a legitimate, ethical and courageous mediaorganisation, and that Julian is an innocent man; a political prisonerpersecuted for exposing the US Government and its big corporations for thecomplicity in war crimes, fraud and corruption, exploitation of the thirdworld, bullying and diplomatic manipulation in other countries, lying tothe public and other shady dealings.They were appalled as the Australian Government stood by in silence asfurious US politicians and commentators called for the brutal murder of myson. They stood silent when Julian's personal bank accounts were frozen andthe US Government cut off 95 per cent of WikiLeaks funding by pressuringcredit card companies to refuse to process voluntary donations (this wasdespite the fact that the US Treasury stated there was no reason toblacklist WikiLeaks).They are deeply concerned that the Government refuses to protest againstthe many documented abuses of Julian's legal and human rights in theSwedish extradition case or his right to a fair legal process in animminent US extradition application.Moreover, many feel his treatment signifies other wider concerns that theAustralian Government has become an echo chamber of the US Government andUS big business, which is increasingly dictating Australian policy and newlegislation against the interests of Australian security, the privacy andcivil rights of Australian citizens, Australian businesses and Australiandemocracy.I implore you as a mother and urge you as an Australian citizen to look atthe facts I have listed below and to make up your own mind.Included at the end are links to more factual information, what we areasking the Australian Government to do to protect Julian and some actionsyou may take to support Julian's right to justice.Thanking you,Christine AssangeFACTS*PLEASE NOTE: Julian has not been charged by Sweden regarding the sexallegations, or by any other country in the world in relation to his workat WikiLeaks.**WikiLeaks*• WikiLeaks is a not-for-profit legally-constituted online news publisherwhich is funded by voluntary donations and has been recognised for qualityinvestigative journalism, with many prestigious international journalismand human rights awards (wikipedia).a) *Sam Adams Award 2010* Julian Assange was unanimously awarded to JulianAssange for "Integrity and Intelligence" for the release of the Afghan WarDiaries and Iraq war logs by a panel of senior US military and intelligenceofficers (ret.). Awards ceremony: "It has been said that: 'You shall knowthe truth and the truth shall set you free.' WikiLeaks is helping make thatpossible by publishing documents that do not lie."b) *2011 Walkley Award for Excellence in Journalism* "Today journalists andeditors around the world are concerned about the attacks on WikiLeaks. Thisis an issue of the freedom of the press, people have a right to informationthrough the opportunities provided by the web, journalists remain ready tofight for the principle of exposure journalism…. His organisation has donenothing more than hold Governments to account and we should stand by himand his right to do so".• WikiLeaks acts in accordance with traditional journalism. It publishesinformation given by various sources but protects its sources with a secureanonymous dropbox.• WikiLeaks redacts its documents, so to date not one person has beenphysically harmed by its publications.• WikiLeaks has a perfect record with information reliability. NoGovernment has denied authenticity of any documents.*Swedish Sex Allegations and the Swedish Extradition Case*• After the Afghan War Diary release 25/7/10 Julian visited Sweden toobtain residency and base WikiLeaks there because of the goodwhistleblowing laws. The US was aware of more WikiLeaks releases to comeand wrote threatening letters. Julian was warned of entrapment plans.• Woman A.A. invited Julian to speak in Sweden at a seminar aboutAfghanistan in mid-August 2010. Woman S.W. stated she went to the seminarto meet Julian. Both women have stated to the police and media that sex wasconsensual and non-violent. Exculpatory evidence (texts to friends) showwomen had no complaints regarding sex until finding out about each otherand 100+ texts between A.A. and S.W. speak of revenge, making money andruining Julian's reputation by going to the press.• Woman S.W. was so upset police were going to allege rape she does notfinish her interview or sign her witness statement, which was then alteredagain without her consent. She stated she felt railroaded into making acomplaint.• *In Sweden, consensual non-violent sex can be legally defined as rape. *• Contrary to Swedish police procedure the women's interviews were notvideo or audio taped and the first prosecutor, Maria Haljebo-Kjellstrand,unlawfully told the press Julian was wanted for rape. Julian was notinterviewed or informed he found out in the tabloid newspaper Expressenthat he was, "Being hunted down for double rape". Within hours, there weremillions of website hits for Assange plus rape, causing irreparable harm toJulian's reputation.• The next day after reviewing the file, Stockholm's chief prosecutor EvaFinne threw out the rape allegation. "I consider there are no grounds forsuspecting he has committed rape," she said.• For the last three years, the political advisor to the Swedish PrimeMinister has been Karl Rove, a notorious, disgraced former Bushadministration advisor who orchestrated vicious smear campaigns againstpolitical opponents. Karl Rove is a personal friend of the Swedish PrimeMinister Fredrick Reinfeldt and of the Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt.• Sweden has close ties to the US and was the major arms supplier to theUS-Iraq War.• Around a week after the dropping of the rape allegation by the chiefprosecutor, a politician/lawyer named Claes Borgstrom appealed thedecision. Claes Borgstrom and his business partner Thomas Bodstrom run athriving legal practice based on representing claimants in sex cases.• Woman A.A., Irmeli Krans (interrogating police officer of woman S.W.) andboth Borgstrom and Bodtsrom are members of the Swedish Social DemocratParty. They all stood together for elections at the same time, one monthafter the sex allegations were made against Julian, with one of theplatforms being widening the definition of rape within consensual sex.• Woman A.A. produced new evidence for the appeal. She submitted a condomwhich she states Julian tore deliberately. Forensic tests showed there wasno DNA evidence in the condom from either Julian or herself.• Julian was not informed of the appeal and had no chance to make asubmission the appeal was successful.*Julian Did Not Flee Sweden*1) He remained in Sweden for five weeks seeking an interview with the newprosecutor Marianne Ny. She made excuses not to interview him and gave himpermission to leave Sweden for business on September 15th (meeting withCablegate media partners). He offered to fly back into Sweden for interviewon October 9 or 10. Ny refused because it was a weekend. He offered to flyback on October 11th Ny refused because it was too far away.2) During October and November Julian stayed at the journalist's club inthe UK preparing for the release of the US diplomatic cables (Cablegate).During this period, he offered to be interviewed by Marianne Ny via thenormal protocol for this situation called Mutual Legal Assistance, (MLA),(via Skype, phone or videolink), Marianne Ny refused all offers.• Around the time of the release of Cablegate in late November, Marianne Nyissued a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) for questioning stating that Julianhad fled the country and a public Interpol Red Notice for his arrest.• For the entire 16 months that Julian has been under house arrest in theUK, Marianne Ny has refused all his offers to be interviewed at the SwedishEmbassy or in Scotland Yard.• Marianne Ny has misled the Swedish and UK public by stating that she waslegally not allowed to interview Julian by mutual legal assistance or inthe UK. Sweden is a signatory to MLA.• *Many legal people investigating the case are of the opinion that theSwedish extradition case is not bona fide but merely a holding caseawaiting a US extradition.**The European Arrest Warrant*• The European arrest warrant is only supposed to be issued for prosecutionnot for questioning. Under the terms of the European Arrest Warrant, noallegations can be tested (including the sex allegations against Julian).• The European Arrest Warrant was initially meant for the fast-trackextradition of bona-fide terrorists but has been misused. It has beensubject to much criticism since its inception as it results in the abuse ofmany citizens legal and human rights (1000 people a month extradited fromthe UK).*The Supreme Court Appeal*• Julian is appealing the UK High Court's decision to extradite him in theonly way he can, not on the evidence of the allegations but on a point oflaw of public importance. This point of law refers to the fact that apolice prosecutor is not a judicial authority and that there is a conflictof interest in a prosecutor having the final say in the issuing of aEuropean Arrest Warrant. Marianne Ny acted as both prosecutor and judicialauthority on the issue of the European Arrest Warrant for Julian.• If Julian loses the Supreme Court appeal he will be sent to Sweden in tendays.• If Julian wins the appeal he is free to return home to Australia, unlessthe US immediately applies for a US extradition from the UK before he has achance to leave.*What Happens If Julian Goes To Sweden*• There is no bail in Sweden for foreigners and he will be held inindefinite detention in a Swedish remand prison incommunicado except toSwedish lawyers and in solitary confinement.• If and when the case proceeds to trial he will be tried in secret (nomedia or observers) by four judges. Three of the four judges will be "lay"judges, that is, they have no legal training and are appointed by politicalparties.• The other alternative is that the US will immediately unseal its GrandJury indictment against Julian and from any point that he arrives in Swedenhe could be extradited to the US. Many people falsely believe that the UKwould have to sign off on an onward extradition to the US. This is true, ifit is by way of a normal European extradition. However, under a separateUS/Swedish Bilateral Treaty, Julian can be legally rendered to the US via acomponent of that treaty called the Temporary Surrender Regime. This is asecret, fast-track, no-test rendition.*What Happens If the US Applies for an Extradition From the UK*• The extradition hearing will be public and take longer, but the UK/UStreaty is unbalanced, that while a prima facie case (evidence) is requiredto extradite a person from the US to the UK, no prima facie (evidence) isrequired to extradite a person from the UK to the US. So any allegationsthat the US is making about Julian cannot be tested prior to extradition.*The US Grand Jury Indictment*• The US Grand Jury has been sitting for 16 months and it is believed tohave reached a verdict to indict Julian and has a sealed subpoena ready tounseal at the most beneficial time to the US. The Grand Jury is a flawed,unjust legal process, consisting of four prosecutors but no defenceevidence is allowed. There is no judge and the jury pool is drawn fromAlexandria, Virginia which has the highest percentage of militarycontractor families in the US.*The Trial of Bradley Manning *• Private Bradley Manning, the whistleblower, who is alleged to haveprovided the US documents to the WikiLeaks dropbox has been held in a USmilitary prison for the last two years without trial. The last straw forBradley Manning was when he was asked to arrest 15 Iraqi civilianprotesters and to send them to the Iraqi police for torture. Their "crime"was to hand out flyers upon which was writhed "Where has the money gone?"referring to rorting by contractors involving post-war construction. Whenhe expressed his concern that this was unethical behaviour for a US soldierhe was told to "shut up and go and get 15 more".Bradley Manning has been subjected to ongoing no-touch torture in anattempt to break him so that he will falsely incriminate Julian in criminalconspiracy. This is because under the First Amendment to the AmericanConstitution Julian, as a journalist, is protected - even when publishingclassified government documents.*What Happens If Julian Is Extradited to the US ** *• Due to recent changes in legislation, namely NDAA (National DefenceAuthorisation Act) Julian can now be held in indefinite detention withouttrial in a US military prison. It is likely that he will be subject totorture - "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques".• Julian has also been informed that he will be "suicided".*What Do We What The Australian Government To Do?*1) Demand that Britain and the UK sign *Humanitarian Guarantees* thatJulian will not be extradited to the UK, on the grounds that:a) He would be a political prisoner (this is not allowed under the Europeanlaw).b) There is no fair legal process, either via the obtaining of the GrandJury indictment or via a US extradition process from Sweden or the UK.2) He be *granted bail* if he is extradited to Sweden, as he has notbreached any bail conditions under house arrest in UK.3) If the sex allegations proceed to trial that they be run in an *opencourt* (with media and observers present).4) At the conclusion of proceedings in Sweden, Julian is *immediatelyrepatriated home to Australia*.5) Demand that the US Government respect the ANZUS Alliance and Australiansovereignty and not pursue a US extradition warrant in the US, UK or Sweden.*How You Can Help*1) *Email this letter* to your contacts, to journalists, to unionsecretaries, to MPs etc.2) *Stay informed* by following the case at justice4assange.com or followme on @assangec on twitter or @wikileaks.3) *Spread the truth* and the facts of the case - call talkback radio,write letters to the editor, comments on online articles, talk to yourcolleagues around the water cooler (or water tank for country people), putup posters, hand out flyers available from @SomersetBean.4) *Contact your MP* with the facts and your concerns and ask for anappointment, take a letter to give to him or her and forward a copy totheir party leader.5) *Join an existing WikiLeaks or Support Julian Assange support group*,start your own or work alone- Australian Support Groups- Australian WikiLeaks Citizens' Alliance (akaWACA) [email protected] (Melbourne)- Support Assange and WikiLeaks Coalition (SAWC) [email protected] (Sydney)- These two groups can direct you to other support action groups aroundAustralia.6) *Donate* to the WikiLeaks defence fund, wikileaks.org orjustice4assange.com7) *Protest*. Join protest rallies - the day after the *Supreme Courtdecision, May 31st. Rallies will be held outside Department of ForeignAffairs Offices (DFAT) in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. If youcannot get to a DFAT office rally outside MP offices (Newcastle andTownsville have organised rallies). If you cannot get physically to a rallyemail Senator Bob Carr *(Foreign Minister) and *Nicola Roxon* (AttorneyGeneral) *and your MP or raise the issue publicly in some way on the day,ie talkback radio.**Links to Further Information** *1) *Simple factual timeline* and talking points of Swedish extradition:wlcentral.org/node/2486 (by Christine Assange).2) *Briefings to MPs* at parliament on the Swedish extradition 2/3/2011• wlcentral.org/node/1418 (simple, concise legal brief by JenniferRobinson, Julian's UK lawyer)• wlcentral.org/node/1414 (briefing by Peter Kemp Supreme Court solicitor)(briefing by Tony Kevin ex-DFAT diplomat and ambassador)3) *Extensive database* on facts, issues and contacts for journalists onAssange extradition, justice4asange.com*Important Reading*1) Naomi Wolf, leading US feminist has condemned the Swedish extradition as"That is not the state embracing feminism. That is the state pimpingfeminism."Articles: *J'Accuse: Sweden, Britain and Interpol Insult Rape VictimsWorldwide* 13/12/10 Huffington Post* Karl Rove, Sweden and the Eight Aberrations in the Police Sex CrimeReporting Process in the Assange Case**.* Link:2)* ** **Rape Cannot Be Disentangled From the Wider Campaign forJustice**.*Women Against Rape, UK: Letter to The Guardian, 8/2/10 byKatrin AxelssonLink:*Food for thought*Many of us are concerned about world poverty, environmental disasters andthe economic crisis. WikiLeaks exposes the causes of these problems, thefacts thus enabling us to find real solutions.When whistleblowers are being labelled as traitors, journalists as enemycombatants and peaceful, protesting citizens as terrorists, who now can bearrested without warrant and detained indefinitely, as is being currentlydone on the US, most people agree with prominent US feminist Naomi Wolfthat the US has become a police state.Unlike Prime Minister Gillard, many in Australia believe that we do notwant to have *these* shared values.In regard to the ANZUS Alliance, Australians do not want to transition frombeing a colony of the UK to being the 51st state of the United States.We want a government that will transition us to true independence. If weare such good friends of the US, as the Australian Government purports usto be, we should be able to be equal partners in ANZUS and fromtime-to-time state that we disagree with US policy.*Note to Australian MPs:* If you are a Federal MP please do the morallyright thing regardless of your leader's position and stand up forAustralian journalist Julian Assange. Ask yourself, how you would likehistory and your grandchildren to remember you?*Australia for Australians.**UPDATE… More "Coincidences" in the Assange Case: *1) Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, shall be visiting Sweden fourdays after the Supreme Court decision. Carl Bildt, the Swedish foreignminister tweeted his happiness at the visit and noted it had been a verylong time since such a bilateral visit.2) Just days after the UK Supreme Court decisions is the Queen's Jubileecelebrations, which will suppress media attention on the outcome.