Campaigners fighting for the freedom of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, attended a ‘Night Carnival’ in London on Saturday.
Approximately 2,000 people gathered at Lincoln’s Inn Fields before marching past Parliament Square at around 6.00pm.
The procession was led by a large golden effigy of Lady Justice and many of the marchers were dressed in a variety of costumes featuring judges, Guantanamo orange boilersuits, while others held placards and lanterns, and lively dancers encouraged the watching crowds as the march travelled down the busy Strand to join in.
A rally was then held at the Emmanuelle Centre in Masham Street, near Parliament Square with several prominent speakers, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson, and the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Richard Ratcliffe.
Ben Westwood, son of the late fashion designer and activist Vivienne Westwood’s, spoke about his personal experiences with Julian Assange, including a visit to the Ecuadorian Embassy where he was seeking asylum.
‘My wife made regular visits to the embassy to deliver meals that she had prepared. And we met Julian several more times with my mother.’
Westwood also spoke about the importance of transparency and democracy, emphasising that in a true democracy, there should be no secrets.
‘Why should the people not be involved directly with their own interests, national or otherwise? It turns out that Julian’s WikiLeaks reveals the answer to this: the national interests do not support the people, they support private interests. The national bit is just there to provide the excuse to hide the truth,’ he said.
He also spoke about the dangers of war, which he believes starts with lies. ‘War is the worst example of this. All wars start with lies.
‘War is also a very convenient method to suspend and modify people’s democratic rights and to restrict information without which it is easy to manufacture a war,’ he said.
He also expressed disappointment in the lack of media coverage of Assange’s case, and the double standards of Western leaders who praise democracy and freedom of the press but ignore the situation of Julian Assange.
‘When (United Nations special rapporteur on torture) Nils Melzer demanded the immediate release and compensation for Julian, the British government said the UN should mind its own business.’
The next speaker, former UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, also delivered a passionate speech in support of Julian Assange.
Corbyn emphasised the importance of gaining friends and using multiple fronts in the pursuit of justice. He criticised the British media for ignoring the Assange case and for not recognising that it is one of the biggest media stories in the world.
‘You have to campaign on all fronts and all of the time to win justice.’
Corbyn went on to describe the vilification of Assange by the United States and British governments as part of a strategy to divide people and turn them away from understanding and supporting Assange’s case.
He pointed out that the freedom of Assange is a freedom for every real journalist and that the silencing of the WikiLeaks founder is, in effect, the silencing of real journalists all around the world.
‘In the silencing of Julian that’s what it’s all about. In effect, self-censorship takes over following the imprisonment of Julian Assange.’
The former Labour Party leader also spoke about the international support for Assange, highlighting the support from the presidents of Mexico and Brazil.
Stella Assange, Julian’s wife, then addressed the crowd and hailed the ‘incredible’ response from the public.
‘Campaigning isn’t just about going on a march every few months,’ she said.
‘It’s a daily thing about telling everyone you know, finding the right occasion, but telling people about what you care about and why you care about it.’
She went on: ‘I think this carnival has had an enormous impact on central London today.
‘We were thousands marching and many thousands more who saw the message and who are now interested and want to find out more.’
She spoke about the difficult situation that Julian is in and the reality of his day to day existence in Belmarsh high-security prison outside London, where his physical and mental health has deteriorated since his arrest in 2019.
She shared a personal story of Julian’s difficult situation in the high-security prison and a recent phone conversation she had with him, where he told her about a leak in the cell above his and how he had to sleep on a bed surrounded by three buckets collecting the water.
She described the water evaporating and forming cement-like structures, which became a part of Julian’s daily life in Belmarsh, and emphasised the inhumane conditions that he is suffering and how it is a reflection of the injustice he is facing.
She expressed confidence that the campaign will win in the end and encouraged the audience to keep on campaigning for Julian, saying: ‘I’m convinced that we will win this. There’s no other way. They know, the courts know, this is a political case.
‘It’s right here in London. And they have to find a way out. And the louder we speak out and the more we grow, the quicker Julian will be released.
‘The media in the UK is avoiding the topic and failing to report truthfully on the case.’
She pointed out that the movement to free Julian Assange has gained so much force because it is bigger than the media and that ‘the media doesn’t know how to talk about it.’
The role of the media in the case was a major point of criticism by both Stella Assange and Kristinn Hrafnsson during their speeches at the event.
Hrafnsson, the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, said: ‘We are joining forces for sending a signal to the world and we are sending a signal of hope to Julian Assange in Belmarsh. This will be over soon.
‘We are growing in numbers, despite the fact that the media in this country is avoiding the topic.’
He expressed joy that they can send a message to Belmarsh Prison that they are on the winning side and that they are on the right side of history, adding: ‘We don’t know when the next step will be in the courts here. In the case of Julian, they are taking a awful long time in deciding whether they will hear his appeal or not.
‘But we know that this is a political persecution, it can only be solved through political pressure.’
Hrafnsson also spoke about former US Secretary of State and CIA Director, Mike Pompeo and revealed that Pompeo has admitted in his recent book that he was directly involved in pushing the Department of Justice to issue an indictment against Julian Assange.
Hrafnsson criticised the former CIA Director for admitting to ‘lobbying’ the Ecuadorian government with billions of dollars in aid, and called it a ‘political persecution’.
He stated that Pompeo’s admission of political involvement in the case against Julian Assange is evident in black and white and will be presented in court as evidence.
Hrafnsson also spoke about the media, stating that the local newspapers in London had reported only a few hundred people showed up at a previous event, when in reality, thousands had marched to surround Parliament in a human chain.
He also spoke about his recent trip to Latin America and how refreshing it was to meet with media outlets that showed interest in the topic and understood the fact that it was not a conspiracy theory, but a fact, that the CIA was plotting to kidnap and assassinate Julian Assange in 2017.
Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, also spoke at the rally.
He criticised the British government’s refusal to comment on the UN’s position on the arbitrary detention of his wife in Iran and speculated that the reason for this was fear of questions about the British government’s similar treatment of Julian Assange, which the UN special rapporteur has also spoken out against, and demanded his immediate release.
Martha, a 55-year-old attendee of the night carnival, was interviewed about her experience at the rally. When asked about why she’d attended the event, she said: ‘I came here today to show my support for Julian Assange and to spread the word about the unfair things that are happening to him.
‘I believe in the right to speak your mind and share information, and Julian’s story is a big example of how the government isn’t playing fair. ‘
Seven-year-old Lucy, who attended the rally with her mother, was also interviewed about her impression of the rally: ‘It was so cool to see all the costumes and makeup!’ she said.
‘I loved the red skeleton puppet, it was so cool. But my favourite was the big golden statue of Lady Justice in the front of the march. It was so pretty and it made me feel like we were doing something really important.’
When asked about her thoughts on freedom of speech, Lucy said: ‘I think everyone should be able to say what they want, even if it’s different from what other people think. That’s what makes the world special, because everyone is different and has different ideas.’
Martha and Lucy’s experiences at the rally show the wide range of people who care about Julian Assange’s situation and how it affects freedom of speech and access to information.
The night carnival was a strong reminder that the fight for Julian Assange’s freedom will continue until justice is served.
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