Free Julian Assange! Hands Off WikiLeaks! (tags)
The December 7 arrest in London of Julian Assange, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Internet investigative site WikiLeaks, is a threat to freedom of the press and an attempt to silence critics who expose the bloody deeds of imperialism. We are convinced, along with many others, that Assange is innocent of the trumped up accusations of the crimes of rape and sexual molestation that are being manipulated by Swedish authorities to request his detention and extradition. His main accuser is an anti-Communist social-democratic operative. It is clear that sinister forces are pushing the persecution of this courageous man, and his life could be in danger. The criminal forces who are behind this frame-up are first and foremost, the United States government of Barack Obama and its military and spy agencies. They seek to silence whistleblowers who have not only caused them diplomatic embarrassment but also lifted a corner of the veil on Washington’s Murder, Inc. We demand that Assange be freed, that all charges against him be dropped, including those now being prepared and that Private Bradley Manning, accused of leaking documents that incriminate the U.S., be freed as well.