JULIAN Assange, an innocent man walked out of an American-staged court this Monday, June 24, a free man after spending1901 harrowing days in British captivity. He spent those hellish days in the British Belmarsh maximum security prison in a 2×3 metre cell, isolated 23 hours a day. Not even a dog deserves such inhuman treatment.
The West used to claim it stood by the truth; didn’t the Holy Scriptures state that: “ Thou shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free”? But we now know that as far as the powerful are concerned, ‘Thou shall know the truth, and the truth shall send you to prison.’ In their mindless attempts to break Assange, the Western powers violated Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Similarly, the US violated the First Amendment of its Constitution which states that: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Twenty seven days after the complaint and on the legal advice that he was free to travel, he left for London. Same day, he was arrested in his absence. A European Arrest Warrant was issued and extradition proceedings initiated. The release of Assange and return to his Australian home is a victory for press freedom and fundamental human rights. It shows that no matter how long dark clouds seize the sky, sooner or later, the sun will shine.