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Free Assange human chain rocks British capital

Saturday, 08 October 2022 10:18 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 08 October 2022 10:18 PM ]

Saeed Pourreza

Press TV, London

Linked hand in hand, thousands of men and women silently surround the British Houses of Parliament; a symbolic act in solidarity with a man they call the world's foremost political prisoner.

That right thing was exposing American crimes in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq for which Julian Assange is wanted by the US government. The now 51-year-old Australian co-founder of whistleblower website WikiLeaks, has been locked up in a maximum security prison near London since April 2019.

His supporters say Assange is an anti-establishment hero who has been victimized, and that his prosecution is a politically motivated assault on journalism and free speech.

Organized by "Don't Extradite Julian Assange" campaign, the human chain is not just about securing one man's freedom.

And that powerful nation, under the Trump administration, it was revealed last year, plotted to kidnap or kill Assange as he sheltered at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Earlier this year, the UK government approved the father of two's extradition to the United States to face criminal charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in jail. An appeal to the UK's high court is underway. Assange's supporters say they won't relent until he's unchained.

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