Why Julian Assange’s Case Matters for Journalists Worldwide
The Impact of Julian Assange’s Case on Journalism
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has now spent so many years in jail that it’s increasingly difficult to remember why he’s there.
He’s been incarcerated in London’s Belmarsh prison since 2019. He’s been held there while the United States sought his extradition on charges of publishing classified information. Before that, he spent seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy (also in London), seeking asylum to avoid being extradited to Sweden to face a sexual assault investigation and charges. Those charges were eventually dropped.
This week, Assange and his defense team won an important victory: he’s been granted the right to appeal his removal to the United States.
It may be a victory, but Assange still remains in prison, and his case remains an important one for all journalists and free-speech advocates to know something about. If he’s ever removed to the United States to face a trial, he may be the first journalist or publisher to go to jail for sharing information that is “in the public interest.”
