Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

NEWS RELEASE

The U.S. Army Military District of Washington
Guardians of the Nation's Capital

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 13-14
DATE: April 30, 2013

Article 39(a) Pre-trial Hearing Scheduled for United States vs. Pfc. Bradley E. Manning

WASHINGTON - An article 39(a) pre-trial hearing for Pfc. Bradley E. Manning will begin at 3 p.m., Tuesday, May 7, at Fort George G. Meade, Md.

WIKILEAKS PRESS RELEASE Wed Apr 24 17:24:44 BST

Milestone Supreme Court Decision for WikiLeaks Case in Iceland

Today's decision marked the most important victory to date against the unlawful and arbitrary economic blockade erected by US companies against WikiLeaks. Iceland's Supreme Court upheld the decision that Valitor (formerly VISA Iceland and current Visa subcontractor) had unlawfully terminated its contract with WikiLeaks donations processor DataCell. This strong judgement is an important milestone for WikiLeaks' legal battle to end the economic blockade that has besieged the organisation since early December 2010. Despite the effects of the blockade having crippled WikiLeaks resources, the organisation is fighting the blockade on many fronts. It is a battle that concerns free speech and the future of the free press; it concerns fundamental civil rights; and it is a struggle for the rights of individuals to vote with their wallet and donate to the cause they believe in.

On 3 February 2013 at a private dinner at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, attended by more than 150 guests, Julian Assange will receive the Yoko Ono Lennon Courage Award for the Arts 2013 for his WikiLeaks work including, amongst other releases, Collateral Murder. This award is given to people who have displayed extraordinary courage and who through their artistry have changed the world.

UPDATE: Chilean journalist @PatricioMery advises ex-detective Ulloa has now left the Ecuadorean Embassy in Santiago, and confirms he is "safe and sound". He adds with a wink: "I don't know where he is. ;-)"

WL Central presents an exclusive interview with Chilean journalist Patricio Mery, who claims the CIA has been actively plotting to destabilise or even assassinate Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa, after US anger over decisions such as the granting of political asylum to Julian Assange and the termination of the US lease on a military base in Manta.

Senator the Hon Bob Carr
Minister for Foreign Affairs
PO Box 6100
Senate Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

14 January 2013

Dear Minister,

Please find below a series of statements made by members of the Swedish Executive and government officials on the Assange case.

Senator the Hon Bob Carr
Minister for Foreign Affairs
PO Box 6100
Senate Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

28 November 2012

Dear Minister,

Please find below a series of links to evidence relating to the existence of a criminal grand jury investigation into Wikileaks.

With economic and military force, in the last decades the United States has attained sole superpower status in the world. The legacy of the US empire carries a dark history: genocide of natives, slavery of blacks and criminalizing immigrants from the South.

None can deny that much of US hegemony and economic might is built on the exploitation and suffering of millions.

This month, Russian Pioneer magazine reportedly awarded WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange the "Grand Prix" in the publication's second annual literary competition.

Assange received the prize for his essay "Washington vs. Mankind".

Winners were said to receive bicycles and bottles of cognac during an award ceremony held at a gallery in Gorky Park.

Julian Assange is currently the lead contender in an online voting contest for the Pericles Prize. Votes for the WikiLeaks leader and others have been cast in answer to the question "Who of all politicians was most sincere in his fight for social progress in 2012?"

In the "Global" category, Assange is easily beating out other nominees, including the Dalai Lama, Barack Obama, and Ron Paul.

Its Facebook page describes the Pericles Prize as an "annual international" award that is conferred on politicians, national and international leaders, and other public figures "for integrity in fighting for ... social progress" and in furthering the "development of civil society". Some of the progressive policies espoused by the award's founders include "freedom of access to ... information, civil rights, fight against ... national chauvinism."

Place your vote here.

On Monday Torrent Freak reported that, after three years of service to the organization, PayPal has frozen the funds of PRQ, an ISP founded by The Pirate Bay's Fredrik Neij and Gottfrid Svartholm. Earlier this month, sources also reported the suspension of the Twitter account of Anonymous Sweden (@AnonOpsSweden). Anonymous, which supports WikiLeaks, is allegedly responsible for numerous high-profile computer hacks.

Following on the heels of Underground: The Julian Assange Story - a 2012 biopic on the WikiLeaks founder's teen years - several major Hollywood studios are in various stages of planning or producing feature films about Assange and his organization.

One full-length feature, tentatively titled The Man Who Sold the World, is slated to start production in January, 2013. Directed by Bill Condon (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Parts 1 & 2) the drama is reportedly produced by Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Studios and Participant Media. TV writer Josh Singer (The West Wing, Fringe) is said to have based his screenplay for the film on the books Inside WikiLeaks: My Time With Julian Assange at the World's Most Dangerous Website, by former WikiLeaks associate Daniel Domscheit-Berg, and WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War On Secrecy by the journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding.

Earlier this month, the pro-WikiLeaks Swedish transparency websites Under Mattan and Corruptio were shut down by their web host, allegedly at the request of Sweden's armed forces. Without prior warning or explanation, the ISP Blog.com pulled the plug on Under Mattan (translation: "Under the Rug") soon after the site posted documents that indicated Swedish military involvement in the Assange case, and that also showed possible allegiances between Sweden's media and armed forces in connection with the Assange investigation.

Thursday December 20th, 19:00 GMT

(Not checked to delivery)

Six months ago - 185 days ago - I entered this building.

It has become my home, my office and my refuge.

Thanks to the principled stance of the Ecuadorian government and the support of its people I am safe in this Embassy and safe to speak from this Embassy.

And every single day outside, people like you have watched over this embassy - rain hail and shine.

Earlier this week, a group of high-profile journalists and free-speech activists announced the launch of the Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), an initiative intended to thwart a two-year financial blockade against WikiLeaks and to fund-raise for similar nonprofit organizations.

Designed to fund journalism institutions that are dedicated to "aggressive, uncompromising journalism in the vein of Watergate and the Pentagon Papers," FPF collects donations for media outlets that expose "mismanagement, corruption, and law-breaking in government." As WikiLeaks puts it, FPF "will crowd-source fundraising and support for organizations or individuals under attack for publishing the truth."

Press release from WikiLeaks and the Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Sunday 16th December, 23:00 GMT

Today sees the launch of the Freedom of the Press Foundation − a new initiative inspired by the fight against the two-year-long extra-judicial financial embargo imposed on WikiLeaks by U.S. financial giants including Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and the Bank of America.

Sources have announced that on the evening of Thursday, December 20, 2012, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief and Australian Senate candidate Julian Assange will deliver a Christmas speech from the Ecuadorean embassy in London. The December 20 speech marks six months of Assange's stay at the embassy, where he has sought refuge since June in order to resist extradition to Sweden and to the U.S. This will also be Assange's first public address since he confirmed his candidacy for the Australian Senate earlier in the week.

Julian Assange has reportedly confirmed his candidacy for the Australian Senate in the 2013 federal election. The WikiLeaks editor-in-chief has also announced the imminent formation and registration of a WikiLeaks political party, which would promote government transparency and oppose recent erosions of individual privacy.

Describing the process of forming of the WikiLeaks party as "significantly advanced," Assange has stated that "a number of very worthy people admired by the Australian public" have offered to stand for election on a party ticket. Reportedly, a draft party constitution is undergoing legal review, and Assange has consulted journalists, legal experts, and other WikiLeaks supporters regarding his Senate candidacy. Assange's biological father, John Shipton, is said to have handled the beginning phase of the party's formation.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa stated in an interview this month that his government would consider granting political asylum to Syrian head-of-state Bashar al Assad. President Assad is reportedly mulling asylum for himself, his family members, and close associates, in the event that he is forced to flee Damascus as the bloody civil war in his country escalates.

Sources state that, in a bid to explore the possibility of asylum, Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal al Miqdad, recently traveled to Ecuador, Venezuela, and Cuba, bearing letters from Assad to the President of each country.

Correa confirmed that Miqdad visited Quito in late November, but said that the purpose of the trip was to thank Correa's administration for its "objective stance" regarding the conflict in Syria. Both Ecuador's President and his Foreign Minister denied reports that Assad had requested political asylum. However, since then Correa has spoken out regarding the possibility of hosting Assad, saying:
"Any person that requests asylum in Ecuador, obviously we are going to consider as a human being whose basic rights we have to respect … Can we believe all those news stories on violence, the dictator? Let's remember what was said about Iraq."

Directed by teacher and citizen journalist Cathy Vogan, The WikiLeaks Tapes is a new, two-disc DVD of interviews with dozens of prominent personalities on the topic of WikiLeaks. Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg, John Pilger, Christine Assange, Julian Morrow, Senator Scott Lundlam, and Mary Kostakidis are just a few of the famous names speaking out on record regarding Western governments' persecution of WikiLeaks and its editor-in-chief, Julian Assange.