Specifically regarding the extradition of Julian Assange, two primary issues were raised:
1) despite facing extradition, Julian Assange has not been charged with a crime (the EAW was therefore incorrectly applied as it was not issued for the purpose of prosecution, but investigation)
2) the European Arrest Warrant for Julian was requested by a private prosecutor who is not an official representative.
Julian Assange’s defense will, on the 5th December, consist essentially of these two points. The High Court of London will then decide whether these arguments are of “general public importance” and based on this decision, whether his appeal against extradition to Sweden will proceed to the Supreme Court as intended.
In several instances, Members of the Parliament were critical of the Scott Baker Review of UK Extradition Arrangements as it disregards evidence that the Extradition Arrest Warrant is being used for investigation rather prosecution and denies EAWs are being used in cases where there is insufficient evidence.
The EAW, Members of the Parliament agreed, ‘blindly assumes fairness in justice systems across Europe’ and can, for lack of strict legislation lead to miscarriage of justice.
It was conceded that the European Arrest Warrant must be reviewed in order to ensure its use for investigation is barred, issued under stricter guidelines as appropriate procedures are more difficult to evaluate in a foreign country with foreign language and foreign jurisdiction, and that the issue of excessive pretrial detention is also a pressing matter.
A requirement that extradition can be refused in case there is insufficient evidence to prosecute a citizen in a foreign country was also suggested.
WikiLeaks itself was mentioned briefly, as a cable on Gordon Brown’s private plea to have Gary McKinnon serve sentence in the UK was brought into discussion.
[Click here if you wish to contribute to the Julian Assange Defence Fund.]
“The legislation would exempt employees who violate nondisclosure statements if they are acting within federal laws set up to protect whistleblowers. But many experts say those protections are inadequate because they limit whom whistleblowers may approach.
News organizations, for instance, are off-limits.
Cardin declined to speculate on how his legislation, if enacted, would have affected the Drake or WikiLeaks cases. He acknowledged the problem of over-classification but said lawmakers still must take steps to ensure that legitimately secret material is protected.” [via Baltimore Sun]
Julian Assange
353 days under house arrest without charge.
Bradley Manning
Rudolf Elmer
November 28: On the anniversary of Cablegate, a new WikiLeaks online submission system is to be launched.
November 28: Julian Assange and Kristinn Hrafnsson debate the topic The WikiLeaks effect: the rebirth of investigative journalism at the GEN News World Summit (Hong Kong).
November 29: Channel 4 airs new special ‘WikiLeaks: Secrets and Lies’.
December 5: Public hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice (London) to determine whether Julian Assange’s appeal will proceed to the Supreme Court.
December 7: Julian Assange will have spent a year under house arrest without charge.
December 16: A pretrial hearing for Bradley Manning is scheduled to begin at Fort Meade (Maryland) and is expected to last five days. Supporters will gather outside the Court.
December 17: Vigil for Bradley Manning on his 24th Birthday:
Saturday, December 17 · 12:00am - 11:30pm
[For more details, see Vigil for Bradley Manning on his 24th Birthday's facebook page.]
Send small gifts and birthday cards to the following address
Bradley Manning 89289
830 Sabalu Road
Fort Leavenworth, KS 6602
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MP Parliament Extradition Torture
i sat next to the family of a 32 year old man detained in a british prison for 5 years without cause.
syed talha ahsan is 34, has been imprisoned on false charges in UK, for five years.
http://old.cageprisoners.com/prisoners.php?id=2073
i also sat next to a rep of Fair Trials International.
she explained that Fair Trials International will not get involved with Wikileaks despite getting numerous emails from Justice4Assange facebook campaign.
this information was so devastating, and yet so typical of the limp-wristed highly political Human Rights Industry.
i felt perhaps it were better to suppress this info of FTI AWOL for Wikileaks to benefit Assange.
and then quickly my conscience told me otherwise.
i thanked FTI for their good work, much of it helpful in the Assange defense, but realize the Wikileaks community deserves to know what we are working with.
FTI is playing a political game here, and all contributions to them should be in question.
braingarbage tweet:
Fair Trials International unwisely told me they have a hands-off approach to @wikileaks, b/c it is too dangerous politically @suigenerisjen
my notes and tweet relay from @braingarbage
republished here
http://www.scribd.com/doc/73674520/Extradition-UK-MP-2011-november-24
and
here
http://braingarbagedystopie.blogspot.com/2011/11/supermax-uk-torture-g4s...
the sum of zac goldsmith's excellent speech is republished here
thrilled he brought up wikileaks! thereafter two other MP's did as well
http://braingarbagedystopie.blogspot.com/2011/11/zac-goldsmith-on-extrad...
my review of the affair is here
http://braingarbagedystopie.blogspot.com/2011/11/love-is-colder-than-dea...
the entire transcript can be had at:
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2011-11-24a.147.0&s=speaker%3A24...
the main points i noticed:
blind linguistic subservience to the propaganda of "terrorism"
blind trust of the American Judiciary
blind trust of the British Judiciary
Citizen Doctrine: chronic presumption that British Nationals have more rights than "illegal alien" a term eschewed by the Human Rights communities as overemphasizing mere state law above the huge economic and safety concerns which motivate International refugee status.
not enough concern for the American Torture Doctrine and corruption of the American Bar Society in certifying lawyers who accept and promote torture (a political sidestepping not to excessively indict the corporate USA?)
the presumption that Extradition is to be trusted ever
failure to assess the racism, religious persecution, and islamophobia of these ongoing anti-magna carta detentions
the severity of the extraordinary rendition process
failure to assess the corporate nature of the prison and deportation and extraordinary rendition industries---who is invested in what and which companies are doing this "dirty work" for the UK
huge levels of Pro-America lobby work here. not sure if it is paid, but the Pro-America agenda plain.
funny the MPs refer to themselves as "politicians" a word long soured as meaning "intrinsically corrupt" perhaps this American Nuance is lost in translation. i suggest they find a euphemism.
mary rose lenore eng
maryeng1@gmail.com
MP TORTURE APPROACH
Mary Rose my Grand daughter, A 6 YEAR OLD, asked me why politicians are not trustworthy. I replied that trust was something to be earned and cherished. She was happy about that but asked why should politicians be trusted. HELP, how do I respond!!