head of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange avoided immediate extradition to Sweden on Monday after the High Court ruled that he has the right to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Assange is threatened with extradition to Sweden where he has been accused of an alleged ‘rape’ although no charges have been brought against him.
It is widely believed that the extradition is politically motivated as the website he heads, WikiLeaks is the internet site that has exposed imperialism’s war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Julian Assange addressed the media and his supporters who cheered him as he spoke from the steps of the court.
He said: ‘This afternoon the parliament of the United Kingdom is considering the matters that arise surrounding various cases of extradition including my own.
‘The High Court has today decided that the issues surrounding my case is of public importance and applies to other cases and should be heard in the supreme court.
‘I agree with the decision of the High Court.
‘The long struggle for justice for me and others continues.’
There was a lively picket of the High Court in support of Julian Assange and Bradly Manning.
Bradley Manning, 23 is the ‘Whistle Blower’ accused of releasing the Iraq War diaries, and faces a military court in the US.
Supporter Jennie McClean said: ‘Assange is and always was a hero. This victory is brilliant.
‘It means he has the right to appeal to the Supreme Court within 14 days.
‘There is media here from all over the world. His base of support is global, everybody wants to know the truth.
‘We are sick of being considered stupid and easily fooled.
‘We shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free!’
Ben Griffin from Veterans from Peace said: ‘I was in Iraq and Afghanistan and I served in the Special Air Services (SAS) and I quit in 2005.
‘In 2008 I was given a lifetime injunction in this court in a secret trial that prevents me from telling you anything I know as a result of my service.
‘We are here in solidarity with Julian Assange, we see him as a war resister.
‘We find it disturbing that a man who has not been charged with any crime is facing extradition to Sweden.
‘I wonder if he was not the head of Wikileaks whether this process would have been started against him.’
Anthony from the Assange/ Manning campaign said: ‘The struggles of Assange and Manning are inextricably linked.
‘One of the most valuable things that has been released by Wikileaks is the Iraq War Diaries.
‘Bradley Manning is the “whistle blower” who is accused of releasing these valuable documents.’
‘The Iraq War Diaries reveal the day to day activities over a five year period in Iraq and Afghanistan.
‘Any war crimes that are subsequently brought to trial or into the public knowledge will reflect upon all of us.
‘The diaries are legally admissible, historical documentation and I invite any reader to look into the WikiLeaks War Diaries and come to their own conclusion.
‘I also invite anyone with legal experience to review the information.
‘George Bush sitting in the Hague is not beyond the realm of possibilities.’
Giaron O’Reilly, who spent over a year in jail in the US said: ‘Four of us broke into the Rome Military Airbase in upstate New York and damaged a B52 bomber.
‘We put it out of action for the duration of the Iraq war.
‘Unfortunately we were arrested by the FBI and put into custody.
‘We were put on trail in New York and I spent 13 months in prison and was then deported back to Australia.
‘Bradley Manning was tortured for ten months in Quiantico in Virginia.
‘They woke him up at five every morning and every five minutes demanded an audible response.
‘And if he did not respond they took him out to another room where he was put in a stress position.
‘He was only allowed an hour exercise a day in a larger room whilst remaining in shackles.
‘He couldn’t lie down in his cell. They tried to break him down psychologically so that they could offer him a plea bargain that would implicate Assange.
‘Manning would not break, he is a very young man, he will be 24 on the 17th September.
‘Of course the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue.
‘A representative for the British army said yesterday that they have lost too much blood in Iraq and Afghanistan to pull out, they have a “blood investment”.
‘If that is the only rationale for staying in Afghanistan and Iraq then it is a hopeless rationale.
‘It is ironic that today in parliament there is a debate about the changes in the laws of extradition.’
Giorgio Riva from the Pay Day Men’s network said: ‘We support what “Woman against Rape” have said about Julian Assange.
‘They have said that there is no rape case to answer because he has not been charged.
‘He is innocent until proven guilty.
‘We say that this is politically motivated because they want to attack WikiLeaks.
‘They want to gag the organisation and individuals who are “whistle blowers”, who are exposing the war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.
‘They are doing the same to Bradley Manning in the States.
‘In Sweden they have only convicted six people out of 4,000 rape cases, so why are they so keen to extradite him when he has not even been charged.’
Another supporter Susan Gian Stefani said: ‘Accountability by big organisations, corporations and governments is really important.
‘Transparency and accountability is essential.
‘WikiLeaks represents honesty and accountability and because of the exposé from WikiLeaks, Julian Assange’s position at the moment is a result of that.
‘He is being held without charge, under house arrest and electronically tagged for twelve months.
‘He has lost his freedom because of this legal and political entanglement and he is being persecuted.
‘Pay Pal, Visa and Master Card have illegally stopped transactions to WikiLeaks, financially disabling the organisation.
‘They are attempting to strangle WikiLeaks and they have had a destructive impact.
‘It is going to get worse for Julian Assange if he goes to Sweden because there is no bail in Sweden.
‘This is clearly a politically motivated case and Julian Assange is a political prisoner.
‘Britain should be defending him and so should Australia.
‘Julian Assange deserves freedom he has done nothing wrong. He has committed no crimes and he must be able to continue his very important work.’
Robert Stuart from the Stuart Low Trust said: ‘It is an outrage that they are attempting to extradite Julian Assange when everybody knows that this is just a way of getting Assange to America to face unjustified espionage charges.
‘The information that WikiLeaks exposed shows the USA as the ruthless imperialist power that it is.
‘That is why as far as they are concerned Justin Assange’s freedom cannot be tolerated.
‘The information is out there and there is more to come.
‘WikiLeaks has been effectively disabled however the cat is out of the bag in terms of the fairly recent diplomatic manouvres.
‘It is overwhelming what has come out.
‘It is astonishing that WikiLeaks has information going back to the 1960’s.
‘The more recent documents clearly show the real politique in American relations throughout the world and the collateral murder and the true day-to-day horror of the American occupation of Iraq.’
