[D66] Mexican President Calls for Assange’s Freedom

[A.OUT]

https://defend.wikileaks.org/2020/01/03/mexican-president-calls-for-assange-freedom/


Mexican President Calls for Assange’s Freedom

At a press conference in Mexico City this morning, Mexican President 
Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador called for imprisoned Wikileaks journalist 
Julian Assange to be “pardoned and freed.” President Obrador also called 
for an end to the “torture” of Assange.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador (screenshot)

Responding to a question on Assange and the diplomatic cables WikiLeaks 
published in 2010, Obrador said (in Spanish, original below):

     “I express my solidarity [with Assange] and hope that he is 
pardoned and freed. I don’t know whether he has said that his actions 
were confrontational to norms or to the political system, but what the 
cables demonstrated is the workings of the global system and its 
authoritarian nature, these are like state secrets that have became 
known thanks to this investigation, thanks to these cables, and I hope 
that this is taken into consideration and he is freed and he is no 
longer tortured.”

The reporter’s question and the President’s remarks can be viewed here 
(from the 44:00 mark).

Barry Pollack, representing Assange in the United States, said:

     “President Obrador today expressed the grave concerns that everyone 
who values a free press and open democracy should share. The United 
States has always set an example for the world with its First Amendment 
values. The unprecedented indictment by the United States of a publisher 
for Espionage is contrary to those principles.”

Yesterday the European Federation of Journalists denounced the 
“continued arbitrary detention and psychological torture of Julian 
Assange”, in a statement joining the National Union of Journalists and 
the International Federation of Journalists to oppose Assange’s persecution.

“We believe that the arbitrary detention and criminal prosecution of 
Julian Assange set an extremely dangerous precedent for journalists, 
media actors and freedom of the press,” said EFJ General Secretary 
Ricardo Gutiérrez.

Assange is being held in HMP Belmarsh, where he awaits his full 
extradition hearing which is scheduled to begin February 24th in London. 
If sent to the United States, Assange would face up to 175 years in 
prison for publishing military documents and State Department cables in 
2010, exposing war crimes, uncounted civilian casualties, and rampant 
corruption.

In today’s press conference, President Obrador went on to say (in 
Spanish, original below)

     “There are cables that came to light from when we were in 
opposition and they spoke about our struggle and I can corroborate that 
they are true, that is to say what is in them was accurate, they 
revealed illegal relationships, illegitimate acts, violations of 
sovereignty, contrary to democracy, against freedoms, this is what is in 
there.

     So I express my solidarity, and my wish that he is pardoned and 
that it is considered, that he is liberated he could offer an apology. 
Liberating him will be a very just cause for human rights, it will be an 
act of humility on the part of the authority that has to decide on the 
liberty of this journalist, of this investigator, who managed to bring 
to light these cables that revealed information about what happened 
between governments. Not everything in those cables was legal. Most of 
the things that emerged violated our sovereignty, freedoms, and I 
insist, democracy. One cannot turn one’s back on human suffering. One 
cannot apply the politics of the ostrich, of putting one’s head in the 
sand. One has to speak out.”

Assange’s next case management hearing is scheduled for January 23rd.

En español

     “Sí, expreso mi solidaridad y deseo que se le perdone y se le deje 
en libertad, no sé si él ha reconocido que actuó en contra de normas y 
de un sistema político pero en su momento y estos cables mostraron de 
cómo funciona el sistema mundial en su naturaleza autoritaria, son como 
secretos de Estado que se conocieron gracias a esta investigación, a la 
obtención de estos cables, ojalá y se le tenga consideración y se le 
libere y que no se le siga torturando…”.

     El presidente López Obrador agregó “… aquí hay cables que se dieron 
a conocer cuando nosotros estábamos en la oposición y hablaban de 
nuestra lucha y puedo probar que son ciertos, es decir que lo que aquí 
se expresa obedece a la realidad de ese entonces, de relaciones 
ilegales, de actuaciones ilegítimas, violatorias de la soberanía, 
contrarias a la democracia, a las libertades, lo que aquí se expresa. 
Entonces manifiesto mi solidaridad. Mi deseo de que se le perdone, y que 
se considere de que al liberarlo que él ofrece disculpa, y se le libera 
va a ser una causa muy justa en favor de los derechos humanos del mundo, 
es un acto de humildad de la autoridad que tenga que resolver sobre la 
libertad de este periodista, investigador, que logró extraer estos 
cables que revelan información de lo que sucedía entre gobiernos. No 
todo lo aquí manifestado era legal. La mayor parte de las cosas aquí 
expresadas eran violatorias de la soberanía, de las libertades, repito 
de la democracia. No puede uno dar la espalda a los dolores de la 
humanidad. No puede uno aplicar la política, y lo digo con respeto, de 
abestruz, de meter la cabeza en al arena. Tiene uno que expresare.”