Assange Arrested by British Police After Ecuador Revokes His Political Asylum. Ithaka: The Fight to Free Assange, Fox news banner, ITV 2023
HM Prison Belmarsh London May 2019: The US Department of Justice has requested that Julian is extradited to the US to face trial there. ibid. caption
‘I prefer the difficulty of destiny over the ease of narrative.’ ibid. Julian’s dad
In 2006 Julian Assange launched the website wikileaks online. The site was established to bring important information to the public which protects journalists and whistleblowers. ibid. caption
In April 2010 the most shocking vision to come of the war in Iraq was published by Wikileaks. The US Army video filmed in 2007 showed a group of men, almost all unarmed, being gunned down in a Baghdad street by an American Apache helicopter. The title given to the video – Collateral Murder – marked the launch of a highly politicised agenda for Wikileaks driven by the website’s founder Julian Assange. Four Corners: Wikileaks: The Forgotten Man, ABC 2012
Just seven weeks later Private Bradley Manning, an army intelligence analyst based in Baghdad, was arrested and charged with leaking the video. ibid.
After the cables were published, Private Manning was charged with 22 offences, including the charge of aiding the enemy, a capital offence. ibid.
Julian Assange has become one of the most influential and divisive figures of our time. A martyr for free speech and freedom of information to some, a reckless anarchist to others. Four Corners: The US v Julian Assange, Youtube 45.57, ABC 2019
In the 2016 campaign … the publication of thousands of emails stolen from senior figures in the Democratic National Committee was enthusiastically embraced by candidate Donald Trump. Now as president Trump has flipped. ibid.
Few people have had an impact on this century quite like Julian Assange. And few have been as polarising. To some he’s a principle champion of free speech. To others he’s an irresponsible anarchist. Assange has sparked fierce debate. Four Corners: Hero or Villain: The Prosecution of Julian Assange, Youtube 46.27, ABC 2019
He’s now facing espionage charges and could spend the rest of his life in jail. ibid.
We look at how he has harnessed the power of the digital era and ask the question, Is Assange a hero or a villain? ibid.
The footage showed an attack on a group of men by US Apache helicopters. 12 people including 2 Reuters news staff were killed. 2 children were injured. ibid.
The collateral murder video changed everything … The source of the video was Bradley [Chelsea] Manning. ibid.