DiEM25 Communications

17/02/2020, Articles
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Julian Assange’s extradition hearing begins on February 24.

We demand that Julian Assange not be extradited to the USA! We are therefore calling for a protest march from Australia House to Parliament Square in London on February 22.

What: March Don’t Extradite Assange protest
#AssangeCase #FreeAssange

Where:
Australia House to Parliament Square, London

When:
Saturday, February 22, 2020 at 11:30 [UK-GMT]

Who:

Speeches will start around 13:30 [UK-GMT] at Parliament Square.

Roger Waters – Musical Performance
Yanis Varoufakis – Co-Founder DiEM25
Chrissie Hynde – Musical Performance
Brian Eno – RDI, musician – Will make a statement
M.I.A. – musician – Will make a statement
Lowkey – musician – Rap Performance
Kristinn Hrafnsson– Editor in chief of WikiLeaks
Vivienne Westwood – Fashion designer
John Shipton – Julian Assange’s father
A large protest march against the extradition of DiEM25 Advisory Panel member, Julian Assange, will take place in London on February 22, 2020, organised by the “Don’t Extradite Assange” campaign.

The Trump administration has issued 17 charges of espionage against Assange which could mean 175 years in high-security prison in the United States, if he ever survives the already dire conditions in Belmarsh Prison in the UK. This is the first-ever time such a charge has been levelled against a journalist with the threat of life imprisonment.

On November 6, 2019, DiEM25 co-founder Srećko Horvat spoke in London at an event organised by the “Don’t Extradite Assange” campaign, warning that “Europe will lose its democracy if it loses Julian Assange”.

Assange’s deteriorating health conditions, particularly since entering solitary confinement on the health ward at Belmarsh, have been of ongoing concern. Following a medical visit in May, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, reports that Assange was suffering from psychological torture. Last month, more than 60 doctors signed an open letter calling on Belmarsh to release Assange to receive proper medical care immediately, warning he could die in prison without adequate treatment.

Assange’s defense will include evidence from the Spanish investigation into the surveillance of UC Global, a private security company which spied on Assange’s legal, medical, and personal visits in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, including the DiEM25 co-founder Srećko Horvat, and sent recorded material to the CIA.

UC Global director David Morales has been arrested in Spain in connection with the illegal surveillance, an astonishing intrusion of Assange’s privacy. Assange is due to testify by video link in the Spanish trial tomorrow.

Assange’s next extradition hearing is scheduled for February 24, 2020.

DiEM25 co-founder Yanis Varoufakis will, together with Julian’s father and other supporters, speak at the protest. Yanis Varoufakis will also visit Julian Assange in prison on February 23.

For press inquiries and individual interviews with Yanis Varoufakis please contact:
Claudia Trapp, at press@diem25.org