Faced with a barrage of criticism from some of his followers, George Monbiot, the Guardian\u2019s supposedly fearless, leftwing columnist, offered up two extraordinarily feeble excuses this week for failing to provide more than cursory support for Julian Assange over the past month, as the Wikileaks founder has endured extradition hearings in a London courtroom.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration wants Assange brought to the United States to face espionage charges that could see him locked away in a super-max prison on \u201cspecial administrative measures\u201d, unable to have meaningful contact with any other human being for the rest of his life. And that fate awaits him only because he embarrassed<\/a> the US by exposing its war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq in the pages of newspapers like the New York Times and Guardian \u2013 and because Washington fears that Assange, if left free, would publish more disturbing truths about US actions around the globe.<\/p>\n But there is much more at stake than simply Assange\u2019s rights being trampled on. He is not simply the western equivalent of Ai Weiwei, the Chinese artist and dissident who notably offered his own support to Assange during the hearings. Weiwei covered his mouth outside the Old Bailey courtroom in protest at the media\u2019s blanket silence over the crimes being perpetrated against Assange.<\/p>\n Ai Weiwei knows all about the crushing of political dissent by vengeful states, which is why he staged a silent protest outside the show trial of Julian Assange at the Old Bailey in London https:\/\/t.co\/uOQug77KWY<\/a><\/p>\n — Jonathan Cook (@Jonathan_K_Cook) September 28, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n