Indeed!  As mentioned by former Texas Congressman Ron Paul On Sunday, candidate Trump and President Trump are, in essence, two different people, but that’s normally how a politician is.  Yes, I know many of you don’t think he is a politician.  However, it is the Trump administration that continues to push to prosecute a man responsible for exposing the crimes of our government against us, the people, and against people around the world.  Yet, not a one of them has been brought to justice, not a one, but they want him not just prosecuted, they want him dead.

Julia Conley writes for the more liberal Common Dreams, but pens a good piece on how press freedom groups are pointing out the “dangerous precedent” this administration is setting by seeking to prosecute the Wikileaks founder.

She writes:

“Using the draconian wartime powers of the Espionage Act against Assange undermines journalists’s [sic] rights and sets dangerous precedents that cast journalists and publishers as criminals.”

Press freedom advocates slammed the U.S. over its pending espionage charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Monday as the first phase of Assange’s extradition trial began in London.

Groups including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) joined supporters of Assange gathered at demonstrations around the world in demanding the U.K. not allow the Wikileaks founder’s extradition to the U.S., where he faces espionage charges for publishing thousands of classified materials regarding U.S. activities—including evidence of war crimes—in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere.

On social media, the #DontExtraditeAssange hashtag was being used worldwide by those opposed to the treatment of the now famous journalist and publisher.

Global Protests to mark the beginning of Julian Assange's Extradition Hearing – February 24 2020#DontExtraditeAssange #AssangeCase pic.twitter.com/NOqgaDGQPT

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) February 23, 2020

The trial, supporters said, is about not just Assange’s individual fate, but concerns the future of press freedom all over the world.

“The extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to stand trial for his groundbreaking work with WikiLeaks would deal a body blow to First Amendment rights and press freedom. The U.K. should deny this request,” said CPJ deputy executive director Robert Mahoney. “Using the draconian wartime powers of the Espionage Act against Assange undermines journalists’s [sic] rights and sets dangerous precedents that cast journalists and publishers as criminals.”

The first phase of the trial is set to last a week and is aimed at determining whether U.S. efforts to extradite Assange are politically-motivated, which would make it illegal under a 2003 treaty between the two countries.

If extradited, Assange could face a prison sentence of up to 175 years for working with former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who leaked documents to WikiLeaks and who has been held for nearly a year in a prison in Virginia for refusing to cooperate with a grand jury subpoena.

Demonstrators assembled outside Belmarsh Prison, where Assange has been held since September, and at other protests around the world, holding signs reading, “Assange’s freedom is my freedom” and “Free Assange.”

Thousands showed up in support of Julian Assange ✊✊https://t.co/3UeZJNWIK6

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) February 24, 2020

https://twitter.com/RSF_inter/status/1231864299645231104

Comienzan a extenderse las protestas en Londres y otras ciudades por la libertad de Julian Assange.

Su extradición sería una victoria infame de la razón de Estado (más bien de Imperio) que nos amenaza A [email protected]! #DontExtraditeAssange#FreeAssangepic.twitter.com/oah1d1xJUL

— G_Pisarello (@G_Pisarello) February 24, 2020

Prosecutors focused opening arguments on government sources who “disappeared” after being put at risk by Wikileaks’ release of the documents, which included information about U.S. attacks and civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. Press freedom groups have argued for years that punishing Assange for disseminating information about U.S. military and diplomatic activities will put all journalists’ rights at grave risk.

“Deciding if Julian Assange is a hero or a saint is not the question. Whether we like or don’t like Julian Assange is not the question,” said Christophe Deloire, secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders, at a press conference in London. “The question is: do we think it’s acceptable for a contribution to journalism to be treated as spying? That’s the question.”

Deloire reported from the trial that while the prosecutor accused Assange of placing individuals in danger, “he was not capable of naming any victims.”

« The prosecutor's opening argument repeated many times that Assange put in danger political dissidents, journalists, and human rights defenders, but he was not capable of naming any victims. » @cdeloire pic.twitter.com/Zod1pOQzbu

— RSF (@RSF_inter) February 24, 2020

Human rights advocates including Amnesty International have in recent days joined in demanding the charges against Assange, brought by the Trump administration, be dropped.

In addition to waging a “full-scale assault on the right to freedom of expression,” Amnesty said Friday, the U.S. has taken part in an attack on Assange’s human rights as medical experts warn that his imprisonment and the seven years he spent in the Ecuadorean embassy in London have led to “medical neglect and fragile health.”

Should he be extradited, Amnesty said, Assange could face further “torture and other ill-treatment, including prolonged solitary confinement.”

The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner expressed similar concerns last week.

“Any extradition to a situation in which the person involved would be at real risk of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment would be contrary to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights,” said Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic.

To note the irony and hypocrisy of what the Trump administration is engaging in, just listen to these final words by Ron Paul from his piece.

The Trump Administration – led by a man who praised Assange’s work – seeks a show trial of Assange worthy of the worst of the Soviet era.

The US is seeking a 175-year prison sentence.

The Trump Administration argues that the Australian Assange should be tried and convicted of espionage against a country of which he is not a citizen.

At the same time, the Trump administration argues that the First Amendment does not apply to Assange because he is not an American citizen!

So, Assange is subject to US law when it comes to publishing information embarrassing to the US deep state but he is not subject to the law of the land – the US Constitution – which protects all journalists and is the backbone of our system of government.

Article posted with permission from Sons of Liberty Media