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Julian Assange to be extradited to Sweden - He will appeal against the extradition ruling
BBC News web site
DATELINE: 24/2/11
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations, a judge has ruled. At Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in south London, District Judge Howard Riddle said the extradition would not breach Mr Assange's human rights.
Mr Assange will appeal against the court ruling. He denies three allegations of sexual assault and one of rape last August in Stockholm. He believes the claims are politically motivated because of Wikileaks' work.
The whistle-blowing website has made headlines worldwide with the publication of sensitive material - including leaked US diplomatic cables - from governments and high-profile organisations.
Judge Riddle dismissed the argument that Mr Assange would not receive a fair trial in Sweden that had been made by his lawyers during the two-and-a-half-day hearing earlier this month.
They had argued that criticism by Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt had made Mr Assange "public enemy number one" in Sweden.
But delivering his ruling on Thursday, the judge said: "The defence refer to the alleged denigration of the defendant by the Swedish prime minister. For this reason and other reasons it is said Mr Assange will not receive a fair trial. I don't accept this was the purpose of the comment or the effect."
Mr Assange's lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson QC, had also argued that rape trials in Sweden were regularly "tried in secret behind closed doors in a flagrant denial of justice".
Clare Montgomery QC, for the Swedish authorities, told the hearing that evidence from a trial would be heard in private but the arguments would be made in public.
Judge Riddle said that did not mean the trial would be unfair or breach human rights.
Dismissing further arguments made by Mr Assange's lawyers, the judge found:
The allegations against Mr Assange were extradition offences
The prosecutor who issued the European Arrest Warrant for Mr Assange had been suitably qualified
The warrant was issued for the purpose of prosecution and not simply for questioning
Mr Assange was arrested on 7 December and spent nine days in Wandsworth prison in London before being released on bail.During the hearing two weeks ago, Mr Robertson said his client could later be extradited to the US on separate charges relating to Wikileaks - and could face the death penalty there.
In response, Ms Montgomery said Sweden provided "protection against that sort of threat and violation" taking place.
The European Court of Human Rights would intervene if Mr Assange was to face the prospect of "inhuman or degrading treatment or an unfair trial" in the US, she said.
Last modified: Thursday, February 24, 2011
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World Press Freedom Day
More reporters are currently imprisoned in Turkey than in any other country in the world. Only a matter of weeks ago lawyers failed to persuade a Turkish court to release a 76-year-old journalist from a Turkish internet news station.
World Press Freedom Day on Friday May 3, 2013 is being marked in Britain by a rally to highlight the dangers facing journalists in Turkey and in this podcast, Nicholas Jones speaks to Barry White, Organiser at the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, and Sam Bamford, the TUC's policy officer for Eastern Europe and Africa about the importance of a campaign to highlight international press freedom.
The World Press Freedom Day rally is being staged by the National Union of Journalists at the NUJ head office, Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1 on Thursday May 2, 6pm-8pm.
DATELINE: 27/4/13
UK launch of EU media campaign
DATELINE: 13/3/13
The UK launch of a 'European Citizens' Initiative' calling for EU rules against concentration of media power will take place on Thursday March 21 from 11:00am – 12:30pm in Committee Room 4A at the House of Lords, London. Guest speakers will include actor and activist Hugh Grant (pictured), media consultant Claire Enders, Professor Steven Barnett, Barry McCall (President of the NUJ) and Marc Gruber (Director of the European Federation of Journalists).
A European Citizens' Initiative is an official petition, like a Downing Street petition. If it succeeds in gathering a million signatures across the EU, the Commission is obliged to respond.
This petition calls for the EU to act to protect media pluralism and press freedom.
CPBF Annual General Meeting
DATELINE: 1/3/13
Make a note in your diary
Saturday 13 July 2013 from 10.00am
NUJ HQ, 308/312 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1.
Leveson, media ownership, CPBF future work.
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DATELINE: 26/3/10
The media’s job is to inform and entertain us but we rely on them too to tell us what our rulers and representatives are up to. In the run-up to the Iraq war the government used spin and disinformation in the media to create panic and mislead people. The truth is coming out now, but we need stronger, more independent media to be able to scrutinise governments and make informed choices.
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Previous stories
Free Speech & Censorship
Bail decision welcomed
Assange's release delayed
The arrest of Julian Assange - the work goes on
How the BBC surreptitiously censors callers to phone-ins
Net censorship finds a new expression
Welcome for decision to drop proposed cabinet papers exemption
Stars of UK comedy and science stand up against unfair libel laws
CPBF condemns temporary shutdown for WikiLeaks
Panorama nurse can return to work
Secret filming nurse up for award
Whistleblower Nurse Appeal
Breen judgment a landmark victory for press freedom
An untold story?
Hundreds demonstrate their freedom to photograph
Olympic builders forced to sign gagging orders
Brown backs down in expenses row
Access to MPs' expenses move criticised
Triumph for journalists' rights as Sally Murrer wins her case
No Place for Censorship at Olympics
Journalists facing harassment in China says Greenslade
Chinese Authorities' Broken Promises
AGM condemns threats to Media Lens
CPBF condemns Tesco libel action
Unite demands reinstatement for Pizza man
Response to the Ministry of Justice proposal to extend FoI
Reporters Without Borders launch free expression day
Update on Mordechai Vanunu
'We must be able to show world as it is'
CPBF response to the cartoons
Derek Pasquill
