Lawyer for WikiLeaks founder slams US decision to serve a second indictment at the 11th hour alleging that Assange conspired with hackers, as a potential abuse of process
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- Assange, 48, is wanted in the US for allegedly conspiring with army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to expose military secrets between January and May 2010.
A US grand jury has indicted him on 18 charges – 17 of which fall under the Espionage Act – including conspiracy to receive, obtain and disclose classified diplomatic and military documents.
Assange will be re-arrested on the first day of his hearing at the Old Bailey on 7 September under a new indictment drawn up on 12 August.
The charge sheet contains further allegations that he conspired with others to obtain US government information by encouraging computer hacking.
The Australian’s psychiatric condition “may have declined over the course of the last few weeks”, according to a report described to Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Assange, wearing a cream shirt and dark grey trousers, sat cross-legged on a red prison bench and confirmed his name and date of birth via video link from Belmarsh Prison.
He has been held on remand at the maximum security jail since April 2019 and has missed several recent hearings because of “respiratory problems”.
The case was delayed this morning as Assange’s lawyers initially struggled to contact him at the prison in Woolwich, southeast London.
The court scrambled to find a US government prosecutor after wrongly listed the 10am hearing for this afternoon.
Assange has not seen new US evidence
Florence Iveson, representing Assange, told the court that the WikiLeaks founder had not seen new material submitted by the US, including a 33-page affidavit.
“We think it is astonishing and potentially abusive, abuse of conduct, to add a new requirement at the 11th hour seeking to expand the case while we have spent a year preparing,” she said.
Iveson said the new material added a “considerable amount” of narrative background and collateral conduct to the earlier indictment against Assange.
She said the US had served evidence far too late, after the defence had already served its entire case.
The US government started assembling its case before December 2017. It delivered an opening note in July 2019 and opened its full case in detail on 24 February this year.
“We strongly oppose them being given a third opportunity to open this case and expand it,” said Iveson. “Our position is that the new material could and should have been provided at a much earlier stage and the only just way forward is to exclude it.”
Normal for prosecutors to issue new charges
Clair Dobbin, barrister representing the US government, said it was common practice for US prosecutors to continue investigating a defendant’s criminal conduct even after he has been arrested and charged.
“They continued to investigate Mr Assange’s criminal conduct, including conduct that was not originally alleged,” she said. “We respectfully disagree that it does not fundamentally alter the basis on which extradition is sought.
“US prosecutors have added some further allegations that set out conduct that expands to some degree Mr Assange and WikiLeaks’ alleged conduct in relation to other hackers. It extends the group of people – beyond Ms Manning – that Mr Assange is alleged to have conspired with.”
Dobbin added: “It does go beyond adding mere narrative background to the extradition request. The court doesn’t have the power to dismiss aspects of the conducts alleged.”
Superseding indictment based on publicly available material from 2010/11
Assange’s lawyer, Iveson, said much of the new conduct in the superseding indictment was based on evidence of contemporaneous, publicly available material from 2010/11, including evidence on the WikiLeaks website available from 2010.
“It’s difficult to see how this could be the fruit of an ongoing investigation,” she said.
District judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled: “Whatever the reasons for this new request, this resumed final hearing is only a few weeks away and the part two request was served the day before yesterday and Mr Assange has not even been arrested for that request. This will take place on the first day of the resumed hearing.
“The defence submits that fairness can be achieved by the court refusing to allow the government to rely on new evidence.
“Whether the new evidence is mere narrative background cannot be decided without seeing the conduct as a whole and how it relates to the equivalent offences.
“This court has no jurisdiction to reject the request.”
The judge added: “Ms Iveson argues that it was brought about in bad faith and is an abuse of the court process.
“A number of issues regarding the abuse of process have been raised by the defence and any suggestion that this too constitutes abuse will have to be dealt with when all the other abuse questions are dealt with.
“I offer the defence more time, knowing that the consequences of delay are extremely unattractive.”
Iveson said: “We will need further time to consider that and our wider legal response to that request.”
Assange’s psychiatric condition may have declined
Dobbin told the court that a psychiatric report received by the defence showed that Assange’s condition may have declined over the last few weeks.
“Obviously the US may wish to take that into consideration,” she said.
The judge said that, in principle, the extradition hearing could use live-streaming video for specific individuals outside the jurisdiction who cannot come to court because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In principle, there is no objection to the use of the cloud video platform, but there are limited licences to use that platform and it is not generally something the court is involved in,” she said. “Applications must be made to the Old Bailey.”
Addressing the defendant, she added: “Mr Assange, if the defence do not apply for more time or to vacate the hearing, the resumed hearing will begin on 7 September this year. This will be the last administrative-type hearing of this kind and you will be physically produced on that date at 10am. Until then, you remain in custody for the reasons I’ve given you before. Do you understand what I’ve said today?”
Assange replied slowly: “I have heard most of your words.”
Assange unable to consult with lawyers
Responding to a request from his legal team to talk with their client, the judge asked the defendant: “Do you still have a jailer in the room with you, Mr Assange? Is it possible to arrange a post-court conference today?”
The prison guard responded: “Unfortunately not, because you’ve overrun by 35 minutes. It would impact on other cases due to lunch breaks.”
Timing mix-up delays hearing
Earlier in the hearing, Dobbin, representing the US, dialled in to the court, was cut off, accidentally connected to a different courtroom and re-connected back.
She said: “I intended to appear in person at 3.30pm, according to the listing.”
The judge replied: “That may be the explanation, but nevertheless it was announced for 10am.
“All right, now the most pressing issue is in relation to the defendant’s position to the new request.”
Assange was granted political asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012 to avoid onward extradition to the US from Sweden for sexual offence allegations dating back to 2010, which he has always denied.
In November, Swedish authorities dropped the rape allegations, but he was jailed for 50 weeks last April after breaching his bail conditions when the asylum period granted to him expired.
Assange’s defence team have until 21 August to decide whether to apply to postpone his extradition hearing.
If they do not, Assange will remain in custody until 7 September, when he will appear in person at the Old Bailey.
“This Court has no jurisdiction or power to reject a request to jail whatever person” is an entirely abusive, actually fascist statement, here a bourgeois typical statement sadly of both, of the US anti-Assange pro-US-gov lawyer, but also illegally and unethically and against all human Rights, in the favor of blind discrimination against innocent People, BY the very – female – judge put up BY UK against Assange; UK thusly plays a pro-US-gov puppet, a fascist, evil entity, UK sadly thusly is or would be, if the Procedure against Assange would be anyhow “successful”, meaning, the destruction against ANY human Rights, against Ethics, against Fairness, against ANY justice, against Truth, against individual human Rights, and for absolute thuggish opression by governments against poor and merely only against ethical Citizens, merely against ethical sort of People, that opression, simply fascism, would go, for centuries, into the future, destroying innocent anti-fascist Lives, and installing absolute lowest stupidity on the globe.
A Court and a, any, Person, has the DUTY, to SHAKE OFF and to INDICT discrimination, to INDICT, to ACCUSE discriminators;
And surely has no right EVER, to discriminate an innocent Person, meaning, has an obligation, not to fall to the untruth, simply.
Rather, in reality, the US and russian and chinese governments and many other big sort of govermnents (the idiot narendra modi, the idiot erdogan, the idiot assad, the idiotic rightwingers anywhere, also in italy and spain, oy oy oy, dangerous, misled) IS what “Star Trek Enterprise” depicts in merely some three episodes in the fourt Season: Some TOTALLY evil, sadist fascist “EMPIRE”, where even inside, they’re fighting for “supremacy” over the Other; Them not realising, that “it would also go the friendly way around”, as in, the reasonable, simply ACTUALLY also logically, foremostly societally, much stricter way – THAN the wild, injust, loose, evil, fanatic chauvinist patriotic way: Since via patriotism, all countries would fight against eachother.
And or but, I see, that People, where opressed, crave for Identity. But Education also has to be fairly given and may not be dependent on capitalist conditions of zones of entire regions.
While We can see, that most People deserve more Education at no cost, We still are rightfully “fighting” against “crusaders”, against extremists, but governments themselves are in cases, even in some huge area topically, the unrigthtful, arbitrary AND hugely prejudiced sort of opressors, ARE the fanatics, the extremists, THEMSELVES, simply.
Governments are apparently like racist pupils, who commit acts, efforts, of murder against racistically by them discriminated innocent Individuals.
A Mr. Tschannen who mistreated me verbally for no reason, told me months ago abusively to “state less”, to SAY LESS, is not my friend, such a mister. period. I am not sad, but happy, to write this. He is not quite my Hamdooleelaa.
The above Article (which He wrote) is excellent. He should see, that I thematically “agree”, or say, I “yield” indeed, – thematically. But let’s never forget the personal Note about anything. Period.
“Octopussy” IS an excellent Movie, surely not politically, not so directly currently politically related to the 80s, since it gives no objective view, but still, once oneself would watch the movie “The Ruling Class” of 1971, One would understand a tad better. It’s not, that the british Society and Establishment would be ONLY all ABSOLUTE naivlings and villains as Monty Python depicted that, but such a tendency is sadly there, among some part of people, to “IGNORE” the truth, or to be in some way stubbornly against the truth, brainwashed, or simply, which IS the same, not informed ABOUT the truth. So out of non-information, out of non-informedness, no good, no real justice, no fairness, can come out of, clearly. Ah. 🙂
Nor out of hammering on People, who were already discriminated horribly.
my nose was broken by explicitely prohitler muslims and by a black later too.
… The Muslim Times surely can and does not stand for violence. I would say. Or write, “ey”.
Youtube for me just now broke its own autopause mechanism surely not merely by chance, just now once, funny.
So can ELON MUSK get some PHILOSOPHIC Education, some political ethical conscience too, start to be a Trotzkist, and struggle for and not against Assange. Period. Or, Musk would merely be whatever not Beaver but Human in space, a not-planner, since he plans merely technically, – and there ALSO BADLY: His Lithium-Ions Batteries are TOXIC and NOT disposeable: He HAS to switch to COLD FUSION – as Cold Fusion is MUCH MORE DIRECT, than solar power. Cold Fusion is THE REAL “SOLAR POWER”, since it is, what the Sun does, combining and not slashing Atoms apart.
Assange and Hutchison are Heroes.
Yeah, would I have talked with the RAF in the 70s, when I was a mere too young Kid, We would have gotten into the media, instead of them bombing the “Aldi” supermarket, LOL;
But back then, Dutschke, a leftist Student-Leader, was shot-at TWICE – exactly like LARRY FLINT, and both those People did JUST like ASSANGE engage for Ethics against an evil huge swine horde of SWINE villains, OF MURDERERS, simply.
So, the US government, a massmurderer, wants to “argue” anyhow “against criminal sort of hackers”, aha. That regard IS itself even justified, fully. BUT Assange NEVER WAS a THIEF, but merely of- relevant, massmurder against Muslims showing – DATA, and not of MONEY – and He never was an unethical sort of publisher nor of hacker, since He clearly is an ethical, non-violent, harmless Person, – OBVIOUSLY EVER TOTALLY INCAPABLE of PHYSICAL opression SUCH AS of ANY “RAPE” EVER –
but He was VERY opressed, discriminated by SO many swine evil prejudiced people, the press, the UK evil “guardian”, upheaved – criminally, fascistically, stalinistically but more simply maoistically-leninistically, anti-trotzkistically, anti-real-and-fair-sort-of-communism, many People against Assange –
then, even some CAT “had” something “against Him”: Already there, in captivity in the huge ecuadorian embassy, under pressure by a confused public, Assange’s Psyche WAS SEVERELY empressured, strained, burdened beyond usual measure. Simply beyond what’s usual. Even Snowden merely felt THAT “life-pressure”, pressure by evil other humans, against One’s own LIFE, merely during HIS ESCAPE, and not THAT much AFTER it. simply. Putin NEEDS Snowden, “LOL”. That is so. 🙂 Snowden is a “Card”. House of Cards, wha. Depends, How Ya lay Them. 🙂
I had “Prosperity” as my Card. 🙂 It exactly depends, which Person with which Past lays the Tarot. 🙂
Why some People can’t “see”, can’t properly judge: For example, many consumers of hard drugs are confused, are “anti-upper-class”, and that’s nothing good, to be like, simply. I won’t here even argue concerning that. That anti-upper-class is wrong. 🙂 Because, may such idiots, who are “against the upper class” (whatever that means, “upper class”) fall themselves into the “trap of their life”, haha. 🙂
In Syria, Assad AND EVEN USA are not the only factors, that led to the revolt AND to the disequality, to the poverty of too many, before the revolt. Bashar, who took Power from his Father Hafez, They were both not known to be any sort of “fanatics”. If Putin now does no big nor small war anymore anywhere, then We can say, He was no villain supporting Assad. I don’t have to be “FOR” Assad (what’s that, sliming?), to NOT be ENTIRELY “against” Him VIOLENTLY, but to be critical – He should simply be told to not fight against the Free Syrian Army. Insofar, or say, then, He CAN be talked-with.
But what We most of Us can’t stand, is a DUMB, prejudiced US govermment. Outside of their countries, USA IS even WORSE THAN CHINA. WHoa.
I will put out further critical parameters, how to approach topics such as politics, culture, religion, ethics, and that with reason. Many People don’t posess my ability, to critically observe and to output merely the reasonable and obvious analyses. These things, which “We”, me n Carl Sagan n Duchovny, could I say, Me, Assange, the Spirit of Allende, and Hutchison, build up, is support for Science. For Nature. For even Poetry, Art – since I just put merely a Dot after Science, to rebegin by the Term Nature, which just looks to a Human nicer, than INSIDE some Phrase, at the End of it, where a strong Word should stand. 🙂
And personal idiocy also of mine apart, me who always brings in personal stuff, I would be more secure and happy under a world leader who is Mr. Tschannen, than obviously under a US government, which massmurdered Muslims, and which opresses all People for ABSOLUTELY NO GOAL I tell Ya.
WE MUST honor EXACTLY Hutchison, Assange, Lula, Morales, and Mr. Correa. These are good People. Period. No one can even contradict. Period. Because I say so. Ey. So goes that. So.
Running against what I said anyhow, just leads to downfall – of many. 🙂
🙂
In clear Words, the UK Justice must ethically REPEL all discrimination against here Assange, against an INNOCENT Person, Who did NO wrong AT ALL.
Who did wrong, was the US government in 2001, which itself DID the 911 bombing from the Cellar of the WTC Building, but did (the secret, “deep” – not largely, but to merely 25 percent but crucially by malicious such acts leading state, part of secret government) not inform Bush Jr. about that fact, so that Bush Jr would fully be ravenous and fervent against OSAMA: OBAMA then TOOK OVER that anti-OSAMA nonsense, and there failed, as Obama MISLAID anti-terrorism thusly largely against muslim People in muslim Countries. Obama DID not see that. But easy. But HE HAS to SEVERELY “turn around” in his head, HAS to become “an Intellectual”, HAS to READ MORE, but HAS to stick to TROTZKI, NOT to whatever communists. But He could have helped Morales but didn’t. But cuz He, Bummie, was too misinformed: For which HE IS NOT to EVER blame! period. BOTH weren’t to blame, Bush 1 nor Obama. IF ALL People are, get, lied-to BY the press, then THAT IS the outcome! MADNESS, CONFUSION, and ACTS of massmurder COVERED-UP by governments:
The US gov has no more right, namely none at all, to cover up its massmurder nor murder deeds, than the german government or any government or any Person has that. No One has the right, to cover up own abusive malicious extreme, severe, violent or severely corrupt deeds.
The UK gov has no right, to colport, to carry on discrimination. It has no right, to carry on lies. period.
Or, there should be a global revolt, or if not, then I would upheave to using atombombs globally against most Humans, in order to destroy the bourgeois rule. period. I am honest about this point and I do mean it serious.
Or, People have to learn, to be critical, to not vote for abusive, dumb type of politicians.
Obama should not have let the huge malicious swinish deed of massmurder against the Gadaffis be done.
It should weight heavy on his conscience, but I don’t seek to take his “edge” away. But Obama was intellectually no winner, no victor at all, big-politically outsida usa. but personally, I don’t wanna take Him his Edge away. But in big politics, He acted like the silly MS “edge” browser – when all, most People, are on “firefox” niveau, level – also Musk is —
and the “Chrome” level type of people, the best, Hutch, Assange, get discriminated as were the Falun Gong, Gypsies and Jews massmurdered in Germany and China until 45 and until 2007 millions of Falun Gong in China – masstortured to death, simply.
what’s that.
that’s madness. evil. I can’t stand evil.
so ya will forecuse me “playing” Dr. Reinhardt of that Movie The Black Hole. Ey.
In reality, the US gov has acted much worse than Reinhardt there is depicted. What Disney or some Sucessors of Him (who weren’t that much intellectual, and who were not as creative as He was, Who had not his exact Vision), was, that malconditioning leads to what People do, to what also the Forerunner of Heydrich, called Reinhardt, did as nazi actions against innocent People, that VIOLENTLY, – but the Filmmakers thusly did both, they villainified the “anti-federation” character there insanely like in ANY cheap james bond politically unrealistically silly movie, but they ALSO did “forgive” “the nazis” in a merely sudo-christian way: JESUS would surely not quite BEAT for VENGEANCE, but HE WOULD have done either, either put up ENTIRE ARMIES against ROME, OR, He would have said, HE DID surely mean and say, People, become critical, don’t listen to lies – don’t listen to discrimination – so that’s how to achieve “Paradise”.
I will write less than tons about, but the content is tons, about how “empty” People’s minds, in “empty” empires, defend “nothing”, but that meaning, They discriminate innocent People, and the discriminators can be government, in cases, BUT or simply OR, also private People, in cases, who are violent or cheat as in stealing.
What Assange DID do, WAS “stealing”, but of relevant Data, which Data belongs to a reasonable Public, to a Public, that is informed. Fritz Weaver does surely agree. I love that Dude. Whoa. 🙂 HE is USA. Period.
And not that drumpf up there. While trump means no ill, he unawarely does ill all the time. He let a huge rightwing surge destroy some southamerican countries.
But OBAMA also proved EXACTLY the NON-intellectuality, the resulting DRASTIC lack of ETHICS, – OF the “bourgeoisie”: JUST LOOK at this – Homeys might call Him THAT too, HAHA – “SILLY” suit-wearing “FREAK” Obama, OBUMMIO, with his “LAWYER” style: Unstyle, rather: “EVERYTHING IS ALRIGHT, I GOT CONTROL (though I know nothing, but let’s not tell em that), no need to worry, I got the solution” – Though He has what, dry law texts and his silly family life, and during studying, He rather puffed Ganja, – THAN to approach a CULTURE topic REASONABLY. He never learned, to “THINK” while ON Marihuana. Thusly, HE IS no “Meditator”. Thusly, He coulnd’t EVEN UNDERSTAND INDIA – and ROMNEY is “too big a guy”, too rich, He wouldn’t effectively rule at all, but would have similar trouble as TRUDEAU has, who can’t make anymore obvious superficial compromises, who has to learn to stand for Ethics and for Unity among most People, not only in the “party”.
Europe would face intrusion by china’s, russia’s and usa’s governments in bad, rightwing conservative ways, if Europe would yield to giving Assange to the ungrace, to the criminal fascist unpity and to the misguided hatred of the “us government”.
Meanwhile, in Israyel, nutnyahu has to get toppled. But a society there outputting a benny gantz as a candidate, is too bourgeois, too ordinary, too incompetent. I will later show Em how it goes. I am here Lawrie of Arabia, ey. Hamdla. Salaam. may bennet get criticised for having followed the nutnyahu mad plan of annexation against the Westbank and Jordanvalley. bennet should be finished. period. as long as a nutnyahu and gantz who said not a word against that nutnyahu, are the israeli top government, so long will israel be rightfully smeared as a bourgeois conservative idiotic entity in terms of what sort of government it has. a naive, ignorant government. sad.
!
So the Americans have “the right” to massmurder millions of Muslims;
and Assange “has no right” to report about that.
In real ideal reality, it is, would be and will be, the other way around.
But already now, a justice can’t call itself justice, which lets go murderers and accuses reporters who reported against wanton murder, here, against war.
Assange is unrightfully abusively criminally accused, accused criminally, by authorities.
Because a Person has the Right, to be and also to report against war, meaning, against murder.
Who calls war “no murder”, has to instantly be brought for life into a psychiatric facility.
period.
Those, who “accuse” Assange, are criminals, who act for murder, for murderers.
That, an ethical Person can and may not accept.
Assange, exactestly like Jesus (being) the (true, truly, but also absolutely) Innocent, an Innocent, is accused —
by – absolute – villains —
who make, which villains make a mockery out of justice, which is inacceptable, that mockery, that defusion, derailing AWAY from the REAL and ONE AND ONLY “topic” AND FACT that ALL People, also Assange, HAVE A RIGHT TO REPORT ABOUT and thusly – automatically – AGAINST murder.
period.
thusly, I end this argumentation, which is “non-controvertable”, as some Vulcan in Star Trek Voyager once expresses Himself. Kapla! Salaam. Shoukrane. INSHALLA. May the Cosmos show the Fate against abusive opressors. !!!
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