China:

Case of Julian Assange reflects US, UK hypocrisy

TEHRAN (Defapress) - The case of Julian Assange is a mirror that reflects the hypocrisy of the US and the UK on “press freedom”, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday.

News ID: 84264

Date: 21 June 2022 - 02:04

China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at his regular press conference on June 20, 2022 that "We have taken note of the reports. Wikileaks, founded by Julian Assange, released large numbers of documents on US-launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and disclosed facts about CIA’s cyber hacking operations. Over the past decade or so, the US government has responded by making up charges against Assange including sexual assault, espionage and computer misuse and clamping down on him through secret surveillance, global hunt, backroom deals, etc. with the single purpose of putting him behind bars."

Wenbin added that, "The UK has spared no effort in assisting the US in arresting and extraditing Assange and processed the case at top speed. This puts on full display the UK’s allegiance to its special relationship with the US, and highlights the fact that the US and the UK have worked hand in glove to bring transnational repression against particular individuals."

"The case of Julian Assange is a mirror. It reflects the hypocrisy of the US and the UK on “press freedom”: people are free to expose other countries but subject to severe punishment if they expose the US, the UK and their allies; people are treated either as heroes if they expose other countries or as criminals if they expose the US, the UK and their partners; in other countries, holding the media accountable amounts to “political persecution”, while in the US and the UK, clamping down on media is to “act in accordance with the law.”

The spokesman went on to point out that "All eyes are on Assange’s human rights conditions and what may become of him. Let us hope and believe that at the end of the day, fairness and justice will prevail. Hegemony and abuse of might will certainly not last forever."

It is reported that on June 17, the UK home secretary approved the extradition of Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, to the US. Wikileaks said in a statement that Assange is a “journalist and a publisher” who “is being punished for doing his job.”