World Rallies Around Julian Assange – Mass Protests & Calls From US Congress To Drop Prosecution

Freedom lovers around the globe are voicing support for the whistleblower

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was in a London court Tuesday to appeal being extradited to the U.S. where he faces espionage charges.

Outside the U.K. courthouse, hundreds of people gathered in support of the free-speech political prisoner.

Assange has been fighting against being extradited to America for over ten years now, but the British government seems ready to ship him overseas.

Julian’s wife Stella Assange posted a video of her husband’s supporters to ?, writing, “Extraordinary support at court in London for #DayX. This is what it looked like when I walked out when we broke for lunch. Tomorrow after day 2 of the arguments we will march from court to Downing Street.”

Mrs. Assange also spoke to the crowd, saying her husband is being used to set the precedent where all journalists can be intimidated by the U.S. government.

In America, fifteen congressmen and GOP Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky sent Joe Biden a bipartisan letter urging him to halt Assange’s prosecution.

“Deep concerns about this case have been repeatedly expressed by international media outlets, human rights and press freedom advocates, and Members of Congress, among others,” the lawmakers wrote.

They added, “It is the duty of journalists to seek out sources, including documentary evidence, in order to report to the public on the activities of government. The United States must not pursue an unnecessary prosecution that risks criminalizing common journalistic practices and thus chilling the work of the free press. We urge you to ensure that this case be brought to a close in as timely a manner as possible.”

Fellow whistleblower and target of the American government Edward Snowden told his social media followers “To every political leader and journalist making and writing speeches: You can’t save Navalny. You *can* still save Assange. If you’re silent here, when and where you can actually influence the outcome, you were never standing up for principles—you were just hoping for applause.”

“This is wrong & the two-tiered justice system needs to end,” former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy wrote.

Former U.S. Senator Ron Paul released a video in support of Assange, writing on ?, “As Wikileaks founder and publisher Julian Assange makes one final appeal before UK judges to avoid being extradited to the US to face 175 years in prison, press freedom advocates worldwide call on the governments of the US and UK to cease the years-long persecution.”

A decision could be made by the U.K. court by Wednesday, but the proceedings could drag on for weeks.