Matthew Hoh, presumed Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate from North Carolina, strongly condemns the decision by British home secretary Priti Patel in approving the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the United States. 

The war crimes revealed by Assange have never been prosecuted, but the thirst for vengeance from the U.S. government for truth telling is still not quenched, and the U.K. has continued to aid and abet  the inhumane treatment of Assange and the wholesale attack on journalistic freedom it represents.     

Says Hoh: “Friday’s approval of the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States by the British Home Secretary is a cowardly and disgraceful move that deepens an already weak state of democracy, freedom of the press, and truth-telling for the public interest in the US and the West. 

Julian Assange has been hounded, persecuted and jailed for the sole “crime” of publishing truthful and factual documents, videos and files of the US wars in the Muslim world. Contrast this with the complete lack of accountability for those wars. These are wars, still ongoing, that were undeniably built upon and sustained by lies, by Republican and Democratic administrations and congresses, that have killed, wounded and left tens of millions of people homeless. It cannot be ignored that these wars have proven to be wholly counter-productive for US security and national interests. 

Assange’s actions in publishing accurate, relevant and legitimate documentation are no different than the reporting produced daily by journalists and media organizations worldwide. Through what will inevitably be a secret trial, the successful prosecution of Assange will cripple, limit and endanger American and global media for decades to come. Without a doubt, the persecution and prosecution of Julian Assange is the greatest danger to the First Amendment and Freedom of the Press since the Nixon Administration and ranks among the worst abuses of speech and press freedom in our nation’s history.

This torment of Julian Assange is not only an unjust and immoral prosecution, a crime in and of itself, but one that will deliver terrible and long-lasting consequences for our democracy, media and First Amendment rights. As U.S. Senator from North Carolina, I will fight not only for Julian Assange’s freedom but for the right of investigative journalists everywhere to reveal harsh truths about our military industrial complex without fear of repercussions.”

Original source can be found here.