President Andrés Manuel López Obrador showed the two letters he sent to his counterpart in the United States, Joe Bidenand the former US president, donald trumpin 2023 and 2020 respectively, to ask them to release Julian Assange, journalist and founder of WikiLeaks, one day after the activist also reached an agreement to be released from prison.
In his morning conference today, the president once again celebrated that Assange will be released after he declared himself guilty in a case that dates back to 2010, when he had access to confidential information from the United States.
”Dear President Biden, in the relationship between our nations there are many things we share: the search and prosperity of our people, the interdependence of our economies, the contribution of our citizens, trust between governments and the relationship of respect between our countries . The constitutions of both States are based on democratic values, freedom and justice. In the first amendment, the United States Constitution establishes the defense of freedoms, such as freedom of expression, speech and the press, principles on which the American Union was founded.
The Mexican Constitution protects individual freedoms and social rights. With the trust granted by shared values and objectives and frank and sincere friendship, I allow myself to address the case of Julian Assange, an Australian journalist who has been deprived of his freedom for 12 years, in April he will be 4 years old, in a maximum security prison in London waiting for a trial to be extradited to the United States. Various international and civil organizations, legislators, political leaders, governors and journalists demand his freedom for violations of his human rights and the extradition treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom that prohibits extradition for political reasons. The London courts recognize that Mr Assange’s life is in danger if he is extradited.
There is a consensus among prominent specialists that this case would set a serious precedent that violates journalism around the world. More than 25 civil organizations for freedom of expression in the United States agree on this, as well as important media outlets such as the New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El País, who by the way published the same information as Mr. Assange. There are other elements, in November 2022, the United States Department of Justice published new guidelines on freedom of the press, which stipulate that journalists have the right to request, receive and publish classified material for reasons of public interest.
At least 17 of the 18 charges against Mr. Assange, charges of the Espionage Law, violate these new provisions of justice. For these reasons, in a respectful manner, I ask that, using your powers and moral authority, you can request the Attorney General of the United States, Merrick Garland, review the legality of the accusations as well as the extradition request that supports them.
I dare to make this request, because I consider that in addition to being an injustice, this case affects the image of the United States in the world. I have expressed it on other occasions; The Statue of Liberty should not remain an empty symbol. Furthermore, you, President Biden, are a man with convictions and it is well known that you coincide with the thoughts of my countryman and teacher in philosophy, the great poet, Carlos Pellicer, who since 1930 He maintained that “the desire for freedom is the greatest fruit that has formed the human heart, because only by being free, only by not being slaves can we not hate, not have resentments and make our life without resentment and hatred the act of justice that God has ordained us. To be fair, it is necessary to be free, the feelings of justice are children of freedom, because as slaves we can never be fair. “As always, I thank you for your trust and respect.”
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