This is an open letter to Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and
Attorney-General Nicola Roxon. It calls on the Australian government to
take steps to ensure Julian Assange's human rights are protected. It
will be delivered on 19 December 2011, but we encourage members of the
public to sign the letter below by adding their full name in the
comments section, together with any comment they may wish to make.
Please feel free to spread the word about the letter to others who may
be interested.
Bernard Keane and Elizabeth O'Shea
The Hon Kevin Rudd
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Parliament House ACT 2600
Dear Minister
We write to express our concern about the plight of Julian Assange.
To date, no charges have been laid against Mr Assange by Swedish
authorities. Nonetheless, we understand that should he be sent to
Sweden, he will be held on remand, incommunicado. We note your comments
last year about the need for Mr Assange to receive appropriate consular
support. We trust that this consular support is being provided and will
continue.
We are concerned that should Mr Assange be placed in Swedish custody,
he will be subject to the process of "temporary surrender", enabling
his removal to the United States without the appropriate legal processes
that accompany normal extradition cases. We urge you to convey to the
Swedish government Australia's expectation that Mr Assange will be
provided with the same rights of appeal and review that any standard
extradition request would entail.
Any prosecution of Mr Assange in the United States will be on the
basis of his activities as a journalist and editor (Mr Assange's status
as such has been recently confirmed by the High Court in England). Such a
prosecution will be a serious assault on freedom of speech and the need
for an unfettered, independent media.
Further, the chances of Mr Assange receiving a fair trial in the
United States appear remote. A number of prominent political figures
have called for him to be assassinated, and the Vice-President has
called him a "high-tech terrorist". Given the atmosphere of hostility in
relation to Mr Assange, we hold serious concerns about his safety once
in US custody. We note that Mr Assange is an Australian citizen, whose
journalistic activities were undertaken entirely outside of US
territory.
Mr Assange is entitled to the best endeavours of his government to
ensure he is treated fairly. He is entitled to expect that his
government will not remain silent while his liberty and safety are
placed at risk by a government embarrassed by his journalism.
Australians also expect that their government will speak out against
efforts to silence the media and intimidate those who wish to hold
governments to account.
We ask that you convey clearly to the United States government
Australia's concerns about any effort to manufacture charges against Mr
Assange, or to use an unrelated criminal investigation as the basis for
what may effectively be rendition. We also urge the government to
publicly affirm that Mr Assange is welcome to return to Australia once
proceedings against him in Sweden are concluded, and that the government
will fully protect his rights as an Australian citizen once here.
We have copied this letter to your colleague, the Attorney-General.
Yours sincerely
Phillip Adams AO
Adam Bandt MP
Wendy Bacon
Greg Barns
Susan Benn
Senator Bob Brown
Dr Scott Burchill
Julian Burnside QC
Dr Leslie Cannold
Mike Carlton
Professor Noam Chomsky
David Collins
Lieutenant Colonel (ret) Lance Collins, Australian Intelligence Corps
Eva Cox
Sophie Cunningham
Roy David
Andrew Denton
Senator Richard Di Natale
Peter Fitzsimons
Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser AC CH
Anna Funder
Professor Raimond Gaita
David Gilmour and Polly Samson
Kara Greiner
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
Liz Humphrys
Professor Sarah Joseph
Bernard Keane
Professor John Keane
Stephen Keim SC
Steve Killelea
Andrew Knight
Mary Kostakidis
Professor Theo van Leeuwen
Ken Loach
Antony Loewenstein
Senator Scott Ludlam
Associate Professor Jake Lynch
Professor Robert Manne
Dr Ken Macnab
David Lyle
Alex Miller
Senator Christine Milne
Alex Mitchell
Reg Mombassa
Gordon Morris
Jane Morris
Julian Morrow
The Hon Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC
Nicolé Nolan
Rebecca O’Brien
Elizabeth O’Shea
Michael Pearce SC
John Pilger
Justin Randle
Senator Lee Rhiannon
Guy Rundle
Angus Sampson
Senator Rachel Siewert
Marius Smith
Jeff Sparrow
Professor Stuart Rees AM
Rob Stary
Stephen Thompson
Dr Tad Tietze
Mike Unger
Dale Vince
Brian Walters SC
Rachel Ward
Senator Larissa Waters
Tracy Worcester, Marchioness of Worcester
Senator Penny Wright
Spencer Zifcak
@
'Overland'