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.
If the gateway to WikiLeaks donations is not re-opened within 15 days Visa's Valitor will be fined 800,000 ISK ($6,830) per day.
WikiLeaks publisher, Julian Assange, said:
"This is a victory for free speech. This is a victory against the rise of economic censorship to crack down against journalists and publishers"
"We thank the Icelandic people for showing that they will not be bullied by powerful Washington backed financial services companies like Visa. And we send out a warning to the other companies involved in this blockade: you're next."
"We hope that the that the European Commission also acknowledges that the economic blockade against WikiLeaks is an unlawful and arbitrary censorship mechanism that threatens freedom of the press across Europe. If it fails to do so, the Commission must be regarded as failing to live up to the founding European principles of economic and political freedom."
Today's verdict strengthens other fronts in this battle. There is an active legal action in Denmark against a Danish sub-contractor for VISA, equivalent to Valitor. The decision will also buttress the pre-litigation work already under way in various jurisdictions against the international card companies and financial services companies - VISA and MasterCard, Western Union, PayPal and Bank of America, and other payment facilitators that teamed with these giants to form a concerted, and equally unlawful economic blockade against the organisation.
In November the European Parliament passed a resolution which included a clause drafted specifically in relation to the economic blockade against Wikileaks. The resolution called on the European Commission to draft regulations that will prevent online payment facilitators from arbitrarily denying services to companies or organisations, such as WikiLeaks.
WikiLeaks has also launched a formal complaint to the European Commission on the basis that VISA and MasterCard, which together take up 95% of the European market, have unlawfully abused their dominant market position. The European Commission is still evaluating whether it will open a formal investigation but documents already submitted by the companies reveal that the credit card companies were in talks with powerful figures in the US Congress and Senate (Senator Lieberman and Congressman Peter T. King). http://wikileaks.org/European-Commission-enabling.html
Although it is still not possible to donate directly to WikiLeaks via credit card, freedom of press campaigners including Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Elsberg, the actor John Cusack, and the Founder of the California-based Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) John Perry Barlow, have set up the Freedom of the Press Foundation to collect money for WikiLeaks. It allows donors to make anonymous, tax-deductable donations. http://t.co/qpW57qquOf
This and similar mechanisms for Europeans are available on http://shop.wikileaks.org/donate
Context:
Blockade:
http://wikileaks.org/European-Commission-enabling.html
Freedom of the Press Foundation:
http://t.co/qpW57qquOf
Julian Assange asylum (one year, June 19, 2013)
http://justice4assange.com/extraditing-assange.html
Bradley Manning (trial June 2)
http://bradleymanning.org/
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.
Pfc. Manning is accused of aiding the enemy; wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the internet knowing that it is accessible to the enemy; theft of public property or records; transmitting defense information; fraud and related activity in connection with computers; and violation of Army Regulations 25-2 "Information Assurance" and 380-5 "Department of the Army Information Security Program." The purpose of the hearing is to place on the record any administrative matters discussed in judicial conference since the last Article 39(a) session on April 10.
Pursuant to the military judge's findings under Military Rule of Evidence 505 and Rule for Courts-Martial 806, the court will convene in a closed session on Wednesday, May 8, for the purpose of determining reasonable alternatives to closing the court during trial for the presentation of evidence that discloses classified information.
On February 28, Manning pled guilty to lesser-included offenses of unauthorized possession of protected information, willful communication of that protected information to an unauthorized person and improper storage of classified information.
In addition Manning pled not guilty to the Espionage Act; the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; larceny; aiding the enemy and the improper use of government information systems.
Based solely on his pleas, the maximum punishment Manning would face is reduction to the lowest enlisted pay grade, E-1; total forfeiture of all pay and allowances; a fine; confinement for 20 years; and a dishonorable discharge.
Members of the press and general public are welcome to attend the proceedings. Seating will be available in the courtroom on a first-come/first-seated basis. Electronic devices of any kind (i.e., video and audio recorders, computers, cell phones, radios, pagers, iPods/iPads, and similar devices) are not allowed in the courtroom.
Media queries may be emailed to the U.S. Army Military District of Washington Public Affairs Office at usarmy.mcnair.mdw.mbx.mediadesk-omb@mail.mil.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The media operations center will not be available for this short, open session, and members of the press will not be credentialed.
-30-
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE