12/09/2024 Legal Affairs and Human Rights
PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee has warmly welcomed the release of Julian Assange but expressed deep concern at “the disproportionately harsh treatment” he faced, and called on the US to investigate the alleged war crimes and human rights violations disclosed by him and Wikileaks.
Approving a draft resolution based on a report by Thórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir (Iceland, SOC), the committee said the failure of the competent US authorities to prosecute the alleged perpetrators of war crimes and human rights violations committed by US state agents, combined with the harsh treatment of Mr Assange and Ms Manning, “creates a perception that the United States government’s purpose in prosecuting Mr Assange was to hide the wrongdoing of state agents rather than to protect national security”.
While some of WikiLeaks’ disclosures, especially those released in unredacted form, could have posed a threat to the personal safety of informers, intelligence sources, and secret service personnel, “despite the significant lapse of time, no evidence has emerged to suggest that anyone has been harmed” as a result of them, the parliamentarians pointed out.
The committee said it considered “the disproportionately severe charges brought against Julian Assange by the United States of America, as well as heavy penalties foreseen under the Espionage Act for engaging in acts of journalism” fulfil the requirements set out in a 2012 Assembly resolution on the definition of political prisoner.
For their part, the UK authorities had failed to effectively protect Assange’s freedom of expression and right to liberty, the parliamentarians said, “exposing him to lengthy detention in a high-security prison despite the political nature of the most severe charges against him”. His detention far exceeded the reasonable length acceptable for extradition, they added.
Assange’s harsh treatment, particularly his unprecedented conviction under the Espionage Act, also “creates a dangerous chilling effect and a climate of self-censorship affecting all journalists, publishers and others”, according to the committee, severely undermining the protection of journalists and whistleblowers around the world.
It urged the US, a Council of Europe observer state, to “urgently reform” the 1917 Espionage Act to exclude its application to publishers, journalists and whistleblowers who disclose classified information with the intent to raise public awareness about serious crimes.
The report is due to be debated by the full Assembly on Wednesday 2 October during its autumn plenary session in Strasbourg.