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Editorial: The Guardian

  • The bid to extradite Julian Assange to the US is an unacceptable threat against the WikiLeaks founder and journalism itself.
  • The extradition application embodies a threat to the fundamental right of free speech with global implications.
  • In 2010, WikiLeaks published revelatory US government documents exposing diplomatic and military policy in Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
  • Assange was charged with multiple offences under the 1917 Espionage Act, which provides no public interest defence.
  • The implications of the case for journalism are profoundly serious, threatening the work of every news media.
  • The public interest in publication and the right to know should not be invariably overridden under every circumstance of national security.

Conclusion: The Assange case brings us face to face with essential issues of press and speech freedom, highlighting the importance of safeguarding journalism and the public's right to information, beyond national security interests.