Opinion | Julian Assange is free, a bittersweet ending

By Tom Fowdy

Julian Assange is free.

The release of the Wikileaks founder and editor comes after he was incarcerated for five years in a British prison at the demand of the United States. His crime? Publishing leaked documents that ultimately revealed the scope of US war crimes, leaking them to prosecute him on charges which would have amounted to a lifetime in prison. Prior to his arrest, he had taken refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years, a diplomatic immunity that was soon scuppered when a pro-US administration came to power in Quito.

The fact that the Biden administration ultimately decided to let Assange go, albeit under diplomatic pressure from Australia, is a small token of justice and hope in an otherwise callous world. Despite the United States framing itself as a champion of liberty and democracy, and frequently praising the whistleblowers of countries that it does not like, the prosecution of Julian Assange was a travesty and a colossal assault on freedom of the press which effectively communicated the understanding that if you are a Chinese whistleblower, you are a hero, but if you do it against the American government, you are ultimately a criminal.

The mainstream media in Western countries, largely pressured by intelligence agencies, were also complicit in the Julian Assange case by ensuring that the information he was leaking was ultimately suppressed and not given widespread coverage. Never was what he leaked allowed to be used to bring perpetrators to justice, to permit dissent against those who were guilty, or to promote him as some kind of hero figure as the dissidents of hostile countries tend to be. Instead, Julian Assange was routinely demonized and presented as someone to be "disliked."

That is because the fundamental paradigm of US-led foreign policy goals and strategies are never allowed to be challenged or held to account under any circumstances. Well, Western democracy allows one to participate in domestic debates, but foreign affairs are ultimately "off limits" with narratives being tightly controlled by the state, who push the mainstream media into compliance, while also promulgating a climate of fear, defamation, and smears against anyone who stands up to them accordingly. Thus, for someone like Julian Assange to supersede the obtaining of millions of documents, he was well and truly public enemy number one.

In 2021, it was leaked that Mike Pompeo while serving as director of the CIA had even prepared options to have Assange assassinated. The story was by and large ignored by the mainstream media. Notably, it was ignored by the BBC pretty much altogether, being published only in Somali as a disclaimer. This is a reminder that the BBC is not impartial nor independent from the British State when it comes to matters of national security and foreign affairs. In contrast, we do naturally get BBC reports such as "CIA chief Pompeo: Wikileaks 'hostile intelligence service" as reported in 2017. The broadcaster is always finger on the button to promote the leading official narratives of the day but to dismiss the contrary. Thus, it has been relatively mute on the Assange case as well as scant on details.

The question is of course, what will Julian Assange do now he has finally been released? It is not an "official secret" that throughout the course of his detention his health has deteriorated. Even when the footage of his arrest from the embassy was aired in 2019, he was dragged out as a frail man with a long white beard and these images have persisted throughout the years. In 2021, he suffered a stroke. It cannot be understated that the psychological and emotional effects of being locked up, with the view to spending the rest of your days in prison, what would have likely been ADX Florence supermax in Colorado, would have been devastating. He comes out as an aged, weakened, and weathered man. Although only 52, one might even assume he is an 80-year-old.

If Assange subsequently wishes to live out a quiet life in the aftermath of this, to enjoy his freedom again with his family and shun the contentious world of geopolitical and anti-government struggle, nobody can blame truly him. His job is done and whether the US government or any "official broadcasters" like it or not, his legacy cannot be erased. Assange ultimately exposed a mountain of hypocrisy, conceited evil and heinous crimes on behalf of those who claim to be the arbiters of human dignity and freedom, crimes which had he not exposed they would never have wanted you to know. Remember this every single time they lecture you about transparency in China. It is a bittersweet ending.

The author is a well-seasoned writer and analyst with a large portfolio related to China topics, especially in the field of politics, international relations and more. He graduated with an Msc. in Chinese Studies from Oxford University in 2018.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

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