Category: Liberties

Watch: Secret Power

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30 January 2023 — Craig Murray

I spoke at this meeting on Saturday and gave a broader overview than usual of the Assange case and its importance. I think it comes over fairly cogently, even though I was actually feeling pretty dizzy and faint.

Jonathan Cook is, as ever, particularly worth listening to closely, and it was great to catch up with Jeremy Corbyn again.

At the end of the event I was particularly honoured to receive from Jeremy the Gavin Macfadyen Prize for supporting whistleblowers, not for myself but on behalf of Julian Assange, and I say a few more words on that subject.

Swedish Prosecutors Destroyed Assange Documents

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Friday, 3 February 2023 — The Dissenter

By Kevin Gosztola

Press photo from the Swedish Prosecution Authority. Fair use for news and commentary purposes.

Swedish prosecutors destroyed copies of email correspondence related to the extradition case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to Italian journalist Stefania Maurizi.

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Our right to dissent is under attack! It’s time to fight back!

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Sunday, 29 January 2023 — Netpol

Public Order Bill and Strikes Bill both in parliament next week

The draconian Public Order Bill is due to enter its report stage in the House of Lords on Monday 30th January. The bill was already a vicious attack on our right to protest, but a new amendment has made it even worse. Last minute changes to the bill include loosening S12 and 14 of the 1986 Public Order Act so that the police can take into account previous protests when imposing conditions on demonstrations – even if the protests are organised by different people with different groups attending. It has also removed protest being a “reasonable excuse” as a defence in court and lowered the threshold of serious disruption to disruption that is “more than minor”.

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PSL Statement – 50 years after Roe: Mass resistance the key in abortion struggle

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Sunday, 22 January 2023 — PSL

The 50th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision is both a bitter reminder of the cruelty of the current right wing-dominated Supreme Court, and a moment to recommit ourselves to the fight for abortion rights. The right wing is moving aggressively to shred women’s rights, but they are opposed by the vast majority and they can be defeated with fierce resistance. The mass sentiment in defense of abortion rights has already defeated the far-right in state referenda in “blue” and “red” states alike, but to win back and extend this right requires continuous grassroots organizing and a return to powerful, large-scale mobilizations.

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Statewatch: Join us in Brussels on 25 January at Privacy Camp 2023

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Thursday, 12 January 2023 — Statewatch

Workshop: Policing the crisis, policing as crisis: the problem(s) with Europol

Register for Privacy Camp 2023 here (our workshop is in-person attendance only). For more information on Privacy Camp, see the website.

In June 2022 EU policing agency Europol received substantial new powers. Legal changes mean the agency can now process data on entirely innocent people, more easily receive and transmit personal data from non-EU states, and is responsible for developing algorithms and other new technologies for police forces across the EU.

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Watch: Fighting for Julian’s Life!

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Friday, 30 December 2022 — MintPress News

Assange father

Julian Assange’s father John Shipton joins Lee Camp to discuss his son’s condition, from his incarceration in London to the prospect of being extradited into the custody of the government he exposed and its Intelligence officers, who had planned to assassinate him.

Camp will also speak with journalist Kevin Gosztola about the implications of the U.S. persecution of Assange for revealing its war crimes.

WATCH AT NOON EST TODAY: https://youtu.be/wuOtyikYRfs

Review of 2022: the year it became okay to jail protesters in Britain

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14 December 2022 — Netpol

Calendar of Nerpol activities in 2022

It has not been a good year for our right to dissent. The vehemently resisted Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Act came into force in the summer, while the government continues to push through its Public Order Bill, aimed at criminalising our right to protest even further. The National Security Bill also includes even more measures to restrict the right to demonstrate.

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Julian Assange Needs YOU to Write Letters to the Editor

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Thursday, 15 December 2022 — Assange Defense

You’ve noticed the momentum building, and now it’s time to add your voice.

Over the past few weeks, #FreeAssange activists have grown our coalition and picked up important endorsements from press freedom groups and media outlets. Global leaders are saying “enough is enough.”

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Dec. 10 #FreeAssange Events NATIONWIDE As Mainstream Momentum Grows!

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Friday, 9 December 2022 — Assange Defense

Can you feel the momentum building!

Over the past few months, #FreeAssange activists have made huge strides. We have worked hard to grow our coalition and get press freedom groups and media outlets to speak out. Global leaders are saying “enough is enough.” We need to continue the pressure on Saturday, Dec. 10 for International Human Rights Day.

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#FreeAssange MOMENTUM: NY Times letter, Lula and Albanese Speak Out, and Cryptome’s Founder Says, “Prosecute Me!”

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Thursday, 1 December 2022 — Assange Defense

It’s been a huge week for the #FreeAssange movement and you can feel the momentum building!

On the heels of the open letter from major press outlets denouncing the U.S. government’s prosecution of Julian Assange, mainstream coverage of the case has spiked. Even comedy legend Jon Stewart joined in!

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New Europol rules massively expand police powers and reduce rights protections

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Thursday, 10 November 2022 — Statewatch

The new rules governing Europol, which came into force at the end of June, massively expand the tasks and powers of the EU’s policing agency whilst reducing external scrutiny of its data processing operations and rights protections for individuals, says a report published today by Statewatch.

Given Europol’s role as a ‘hub’ for information processing and exchange between EU member states and other entities, the new rules thus increase the powers of all police forces and other agencies that cooperate with Europol, argues the report, Empowering the police, removing protections.

New tasks granted to Europol include supporting the EU’s network of police “special intervention units” and managing a cooperation platform for coordinating joint police operations, known as EMPACT. However, it is the rules governing the processing and exchange of data that have seen the most significant changes.

Read more here: New Europol rules massively expand police powers and reduce rights protections

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Justice for the Bristol protesters!

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Friday, 28 October, 2022 — NetPol

Campaign statement by Justice for the Bristol Protesters

Justice for the Bristol Protesters (JBP) is a group of parents, friends and supporters of those charged with riot and given harsh prison sentences as a result of being involved with the protest against the Police Crime and Sentencing Bill in Bristol on 21 March 2021. Most of these protesters are young people, who had never been in trouble with the police before and were demonstrating legitimately against the Police Bill for the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression.

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The call heard around the world: Free Julian Assange Now!

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Sunday, 9 October 2022 — Peoples Dispatch

Thousands of people formed a human chain around the UK Parliament on October 8 to demand freedom for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Actions in solidarity with the imprisoned journalist were held across the world, including in Morocco, Brazil, Australia, and the US

by Peoples Dispatch

Protestors form human chain to surround the UK Parliament in London Photo: Wikileaks/Twitter

Tory Party conference confirms draconian Public Order Bill will go ahead

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Sunday, 9 October 2022 — NetPol

BravermanSuella Braverman continues Priti Patel’s war on protesters

Home Secretary Suella Braverman confirmed that she will be pursuing Priti Patel’s crackdown on dissent at the Conservative Party Conference. Braverman continued the recent rhetoric of calling protesters “a mob” and threatened campaigners that “you cross a line when you break the law. And that’s why we’ll keep putting you behind bars.”

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Police response to anti-monarchy protests shows the need for Netpol’s Charter for Freedom of Assembly Rights

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Friday, 16 September 2022 — NetPol

There has been outrage at the arrests. But protest is not illegal!

#NotMyKing and police

There has been outrage this week at the arrests and threat of arrest of anti-monarchy protesters. However the arrests have also led to a lot of misinformation and alarmist statements about the law and our right to protest.

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Crown prosecutor levels blackmail charges against Palestine Action

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Thursday, 15 September 2022 — The Electronic Intifada

Kit Klarenberg

A masked man with a poster stands in front of pictures of children slain in GazaPalestine Action continues its protests in spite of an impending court case that could land several activists in prison for years. Martin Pope SOPA Images

In June, I wrote an analysis of Britain’s disturbingly draconian new Sections of that bill give every appearance of having been specifically drawn up in order to undermine Palestine Action.

Openly committed to damaging and destroying the British-based assets of top Israeli arms manufacturers, including Elbit Systems, Palestine Action has since launch in mid-2020 pulled off a string of successes, resulting in the closure of the company’s sites, and abandonment of offices by companies leasing space to Elbit.

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