Published 18 December 201126 March 2012 · Main Posts Mr Rudd: Protect Assange! Editorial team This is an open letter to Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Attorney-General Nicola Roxon. It calls on the Australian government to take steps to ensure Julian Assange’s human rights are protected. It will be delivered on 19 December 2011, but we encourage members of the public to sign the letter below by adding their full name in the comments section, together with any comment they may wish to make. Please feel free to spread the word about the letter to others who may be interested. Bernard Keane and Elizabeth O’Shea The Hon Kevin Rudd Minister for Foreign Affairs Parliament House ACT 2600 Dear Minister We write to express our concern about the plight of Julian Assange. To date, no charges have been laid against Mr Assange by Swedish authorities. Nonetheless, we understand that should he be sent to Sweden, he will be held on remand, incommunicado. We note your comments last year about the need for Mr Assange to receive appropriate consular support. We trust that this consular support is being provided and will continue. We are concerned that should Mr Assange be placed in Swedish custody, he will be subject to the process of “temporary surrender”, enabling his removal to the United States without the appropriate legal processes that accompany normal extradition cases. We urge you to convey to the Swedish government Australia’s expectation that Mr Assange will be provided with the same rights of appeal and review that any standard extradition request would entail. Any prosecution of Mr Assange in the United States will be on the basis of his activities as a journalist and editor (Mr Assange’s status as such has been recently confirmed by the High Court in England). Such a prosecution will be a serious assault on freedom of speech and the need for an unfettered, independent media. Further, the chances of Mr Assange receiving a fair trial in the United States appear remote. A number of prominent political figures have called for him to be assassinated, and the Vice-President has called him a “high-tech terrorist”. Given the atmosphere of hostility in relation to Mr Assange, we hold serious concerns about his safety once in US custody. We note that Mr Assange is an Australian citizen, whose journalistic activities were undertaken entirely outside of US territory. Mr Assange is entitled to the best endeavours of his government to ensure he is treated fairly. He is entitled to expect that his government will not remain silent while his liberty and safety are placed at risk by a government embarrassed by his journalism. Australians also expect that their government will speak out against efforts to silence the media and intimidate those who wish to hold governments to account. We ask that you convey clearly to the United States government Australia’s concerns about any effort to manufacture charges against Mr Assange, or to use an unrelated criminal investigation as the basis for what may effectively be rendition. We also urge the government to publicly affirm that Mr Assange is welcome to return to Australia once proceedings against him in Sweden are concluded, and that the government will fully protect his rights as an Australian citizen once here. We have copied this letter to your colleague, the Attorney-General. Yours sincerely Phillip Adams AO Adam Bandt MP Wendy Bacon Greg Barns Susan Benn Senator Bob Brown Dr Scott Burchill Julian Burnside QC Dr Leslie Cannold Mike Carlton Professor Noam Chomsky David Collins Lieutenant Colonel (ret) Lance Collins, Australian Intelligence Corps Eva Cox Sophie Cunningham Roy David Andrew Denton Senator Richard Di Natale Peter Fitzsimons Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser AC CH Anna Funder Professor Raimond Gaita David Gilmour and Polly Samson Kara Greiner Senator Sarah Hanson-Young Liz Humphrys Barry Owen Jones AO Professor Sarah Joseph Bernard Keane Professor John Keane Stephen Keim SC Steve Killelea Andrew Knight Mary Kostakidis Professor Theo van Leeuwen Ken Loach Antony Loewenstein Senator Scott Ludlam Associate Professor Jake Lynch Professor Robert Manne Dr Ken Macnab David Lyle Alex Miller Senator Christine Milne Alex Mitchell Reg Mombassa Gordon Morris Jane Morris Julian Morrow The Hon Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC Nicolé Nolan Rebecca O’Brien Elizabeth O’Shea Michael Pearce SC John Pilger Justin Randle Senator Lee Rhiannon Guy Rundle Angus Sampson Senator Rachel Siewert Marius Smith Jeff Sparrow Professor Stuart Rees AM Rob Stary Stephen Thompson Dr Tad Tietze Mike Unger Dale Vince Brian Walters SC Rachel Ward Senator Larissa Waters Tracy Worcester, Marchioness of Worcester Senator Penny Wright Prof Spencer Zifcak Editorial team More by Editorial team › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 8 November 20248 November 2024 · Poetry Announcing the final results of the 2024 Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers Editorial Team After careful consideration, judges Karen Wyld and Eugenia Flynn have selected first place and two runners-up to form the final results of this year’s Nakata Brophy Prize! 4 October 202418 October 2024 · Main Posts Announcing the Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers 2024 longlist Editorial Team Sponsored by Trinity College at the University of Melbourne and supporters, the Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers, established in 2014 and now in its ninth year, recognises the talent of young Indigenous writers across Australia.
