I don’t really like Edward Snowden, and he appears to be on a weird trip.
But I do like Julian Assange, and I think what Snowden is saying here is correct.
RT:
WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange is a political prisoner and the process against him is a crime against journalism, said a group of academics, politicians, journalists and advocates convened ahead of his extradition hearing.
“What we’re witnessing is a murder,” NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden told the ‘Belmarsh Tribunal’ in London on Friday, appearing via video link.
“Everywhere we look, from Afghanistan to economics, from pandemic to pervasive surveillance, the obvious has been made unspeakable,” he added, because speaking up would put one in the same category as Assange, a “political criminal” charged for “the transgression of choosing the wrong side.”
Edward Snowden now speaking at the Belmarsh Tribunal pic.twitter.com/1nnHelPhjs
— Srećko Horvat (@HorvatSrecko) October 22, 2021
“Do we have any rights, if we don’t defend them?” Snowden said. “Can we be said to be free if even our power to express ourselves, to understand the facts of our world, can be fenced off from us?”
Anyone who loves the truth is a criminal in the same category as Assange in the eyes of the state, and the only difference is that of degree, Snowden argued, and will share his fate.
“If we’re going to free the world, we have to free Assange.”
The same could be said about so many things also.
You can’t have a free world with:
- Women’s rights
- Controlled media
- Controlled and censored internet
- COERCED/FORCED VACCINATIONS
And on and on.
Trump went bad when he didn’t free Assange.
There is no way any person with any kind of a conscience could let this man be tortured, rotting in a cell, for doing nothing other than journalism.
The United States is a total joke country.
EXACTLY. This statement is not only 100% true but vital to comprehend: https://t.co/nkqSMIXDKy
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 23, 2021