Bob Carr
Former Premier of New South Wales, Australia
“Does an Australian passport mean nothing? That q is raised by Canberra’s failure to act on revelations about the cruelty in the treatment of Julian Assange. It’s not hard for Aus govt to let Boris know that strip searches, isolation, handcuffs & a glass booth are over the top”
Sigmar Gabriel
Former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Germany
“In Europe the following must apply: anyone who has been tortured needs help and can rely on the rule of law. Neither is guaranteed with Julian Assange.”
David Davis
Conservative MP, Former Secretary of State, UK
“Assange is a symbol of the American State’s affront at having its secrets put out in the public domain. That’s why I think it’s a political case. Assange has been blamed for whole series of things which are untrue but the impetus behind extradition request hasn’t stopped which tells you it wasn’t to do with those things. It’s about high politics & him being symbol of what they see as an assault on US state”
Bernie Sanders
US Senator, Former US Presidential Candidate, USA
“Let me be clear: it is a disturbing attack on the First Amendment for the Trump administration to decide who is or is not a reporter for the purposes of a criminal prosecution. Donald Trump must obey the Constitution, which protects the publication of news about our government.”
Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador
President of Mexico
“What the cables demonstrated is the workings of the global system and its authoritarian nature, these are state secrets that have become known thanks to his work, and I hope that this is taken into consideration and he is freed and he is no longer tortured.”
Ron Wyden
US Senator for Oregon, USA
“This is not about Julian Assange. This is about the use of the Espionage Act to charge a recipient and publisher of classified information. I am extremely concerned about the precedent this may set and potential dangers to the work of journalists and the First Amendment.”
Yanis Varoufakis
Politician, DiEM25, Greece
“The game is up. Years of lies exposed. It was never about Sweden, Putin, Trump or Hillary. Assange was persecuted for exposing war crimes. Will those duped so far now stand with us in opposing his disappearance after a fake trial where his lawyers will not even know the charges?”
Tulsi Gabbard
Former US Presidential Candidate, USA
“Charging Assange under the Espionage Act will have a serious chilling effect on our most fundamental rights of freedom of speech & freedom of the press. Every American – certainly every journalist – must strongly condemn this anti-democratic act by the Trump Administration”
Lula da Silva
Former President of Brazil
“Assange is a hero of our time. His actions helped to unravel the manipulation of the facts by the US intelligence services. He has done more for democracy in the world than many elected leaders. His arrest is an attack on freedom of expression. And his eventual extradition, if it occurs, violence against human rights and would put his life at risk.”
Barnaby Joyce
Former Deputy Prime Minister, Australia
“If Assange is indeed extradited to the “If someone was in another country at a time an alleged event occurred then the sovereignty of the land they were in has primacy over the accusation of another nation”
Peter Whish-Wilson
Greens Senator, Australia
“The UN has this week reported that Assange is showing acute signs of exposure to psychological torture. We’re calling on the Government to intervene and ensure he’s brought back home – not extradited to the very country whose wrongdoing he exposed.”
Sevim Dagdelen
Member of the Bundestag, Germany
“Anyone who speaks of human rights and freedom of the press must not remain silent about the fate of dissident Julian Assange. His extradition to the United States must be prevented. Freedom and health for Julian Assange!”
Evo Morales
President of Bolivia (2006 – 2019)
“We strongly condemn the detention of Julian Assange and the violation of freedom of speech. Our solidarity is with Assange who is persecuted by the US Govt for revealing its human rights violations, murders of civilians and diplomatic espionage”
Eva Joly
Former Member of the European Parliament
“The possible extradition to the US of Julian Assange the founder of WikiLeaks tells a lot about what we want to do for the future of our democracies. This is not only about the fate of a single man, it is above all about the protection of freedom of information and transparency!”
Andrew Wilkie
Independent Federal MP for Clark, Australia
“If Assange is indeed extradited to the US, he faces serious human rights violations including exposure to torture and a dodgy trial. And this has serious implications for freedom of speech and freedom of the press here in Australia”
Richard Burgon
Former Shadow Justice Secretary, Labour MP, UK
“Extremely troubling. Prosecutors have announced new charges including for publishing files on the US wars in Afghanistan & Iraq. The American Civil Liberties Union warns of “an extraordinary escalation of the Trump administration’s attacks on journalism”
Jeremy Corbyn
Former Leader of the Labour Party, UK
“The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government.
What happened to free speech?”
Jeremy Corbyn praises Julian Assange and calls for extradition to US to be halted during UK Parliament Question Time
Rex Patrick
Centre Alliance Senator for South Australia
“This highly political prosecution must be strongly opposed by the Australian Government. Prime Minister Scott Morrison should speak very clearly in defence of press freedom and Mr Assange.”
Alicia Castro
Argentine Diplomat, Argentina
“Trump pursues Assange and wants to extradite him and condemn him for life, for having published the Truth ABOUT America. It’s not just Julian Assange, WikiLeaks who’s in danger. It is an attack on investigative journalism, freedom of expression and the right to information.”
John McDonnell
Labour MP, Former Shadow Chancellor of the Excheque, UK
“I am more convinced than ever before that this man first of all is innocent of the charges that have been brought against him, secondly that actually morally he made the right decision what Julian Assange and his colleagues did. He must not be extradited to the United States of America because I don’t believe that he will get a fair trial, a fair hearing and a risk therefore is that he could spend the rest of his life in prison.”
Rafael Correa
Former President of Ecuador
“The greatest traitor in Ecuadorian and Latin American history, Lenín Moreno, allowed the British police to enter our embassy in London to arrest Assange.
Moreno is corrupt, but what he has done is a crime that humanity will never forget.”
George Christensen
Member of the House of Representatives, Australia
“I don’t think it’s fair at all to extradite an Australian citizen out of one foreign country into another foreign country, to face charges for what? For reporting on the facts.”
Ron Paul
Former member of U.S. House of Representatives from Texas, USA
“Last week’s arrest of Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange by the British government on a US extradition order is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the US Constitution. It is an attack on the free press. It is an attack on free speech. It is an attack on our right to know what our government is doing with our money in our name. Julian Assange is every bit as much a political prisoner as was Cardinal Mindszenty in Hungary or Nelson Mandela in South Africa.”
Andrej Hunko
Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Germany
“Julian Assange must be released immediately and extradition to the United States prevented. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe called on the Member States on Tuesday 28 January in a resolution on media freedom after a corresponding amendment was adopted by consensus.”
Adam Bandt
Greens Leader, Australia
“The criminalisation of journalism must end. If this government wants to show its commitment to protecting press freedoms and protecting democracy, it needs to bring Julian Assange home and protect him from extradition to the United States.”
Bjørnar Moxnes
Norwegian Member of Parliament
“This authoritarian precedent the United States is now establishing, and which can easily be exploited by other major powers, will in turn make the pursuit of Assange and Wikileaks one of the worst global threats to freedom of speech of our time. Stop dilating after the United States, stand up for freedom of speech and say clearly no to extradition of Julian Assange.”
Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans
Progressive Independent for North Sydney, Australia
“We demand that Julian Assange receive the healthcare that he’s entitled to, and that the psychological torture be stopped immediately.”
Ricardo Patiño
Former Foreign Minister and Former Minister of Defense of Ecuador
“World shame! Lenin Moreno took his betrayal to a global extent. He authorized the arrest of Assange in our embassy in London. He violated the Constitution, the international agreements and put at risk the life of a journalist that revealed atrocious crimes. We condemn you Judas“
Mehreen Faruqi
Greens Senator for NSW, Australia
“Regardless of what you think about Assange as an individual, he is facing extradition to the US on charges relating to his work to shine light on potential war crimes – an act that won him Australia’s highest honour for journalism.”
Nick McKim
Greens Senator for Tasmania, Australia
“Julian Assange is an Australian citizen. He needs to be brought home”
Jill Stein
Green Party Presidential Candidate 2012 & 2016, USA
“Time to call Julian Assange what he is: a political prisoner persecuted for publishing information that revealed crimes of the powerful. Democrats, Republicans & global elites despise him for exposing war crimes & corruption. Fight for his freedom to protect our own! #FreeAssange”
Philipa Veitch
Greens Councillor and Deputy Mayor, Australia
“We have accepted huge restrictions on our personal freedom to protect vulnerable members in our community from covid-19, but one freedom we should always defend is freedom of the press. Tonight I will call on council to support press freedom and the release of Julian Assange.”
Mick Wallace
Member of the European Parliament
“Julian Assange is a journalist, editor + publisher, and is not, as CIA claim, a hostile foreign intelligence asset – he is entitled to protection under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights “to seek, receive and impart information + ideas thru any media….”
Sahra Wagenknecht
Member of Bundestag, Germany
“Julian Assange is in danger to die in prison for being brave and uncovering war crimes. The silence of #BuReg on the situation of Assange is a shame. Foreign Minister #Maas must immediately campaign for his transfer to the hospital!”
Julian Hill
Federal MP for Bruce, Australia
“They imprison and torture Julian Assange to silence him. I spoke up for his rights today … and the lights in Parliament literally go out”
Diane Abbott
Former Shadow Home Secretary, Labour MP, UK
“In this country we have protections for whistle-blowers, those who take personal risk to disclose wrongdoing in the public interest. Julian Assange is not being pursued to protect US national security. He is being pursued because he has exposed wrongdoing by US administrations”
Mike Gravel
Former US Senator from Alaska, USA
Official statement from Sen. Mike Gravel about the arrest of Julian Assange
Scott Ludlam
Former Greens Parliamentarian, Australia
“Here’s why Australian publisher Julian Assange is in prison right now: for publishing this https://collateralmurder.wikileaks.org and this https://wardiaries.wikileaks.org and this https://wikileaks.org//plusd/. None of this is espionage. It is publishing. It is publishing. It. Is. Publishing. #4Corners“
Guillaume Long
Former Foreign Minister of Ecuador
“The delivery of Julian Assange, dragged by the British police after entering our diplomatic mission in order to remove him, is a national shame and a historical error that will leave a deep mark on Ecuador for a long time. Ecuador has just violated the principle of “non-refoulement” of asylees, a fundamental principle of protection of human rights enshrined in international law. Ecuador has just violated opinion 54/2015 of the UNWGAD.”
Lee Rhiannon
Former Greens Senator, Australia
“Sign petition. Amnesty International calls on US to drop charges against Julian Assange. #FreeJulianAssange“
Richard Di Natale
Former Leader of Greens, Melbourne, Australia
“Australia must do more than simply provide a tokenistic offer of consular assistance. I call on the Foreign Minister to make the most of our so-called special relationship with the United States to ensure that Assange is not extradited to the US”
Andrew Bartlett
Former Senator for Queensland, Australia
“Julian Assange is also Australia’s Political Prisoner. Our own govt is acquiescing to the political persecution & torture of an Australian, whose ‘crime’ was to work with others (incl many mainstream media outlets) to publish evidence of major war crimes.”
Heike Hänsel
Member of the Bundestag, Germany
“We call on the British government not to extradite Julian Assange to the USA. The European Union must take action to everything to protect a politically persecuted publisher and journalist.”
Ana Miranda Paz
Former Member of the European Parliament
Joint Statement on the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in front of HMP Belmarsh prison in London: Freedom for Julian Assange – No extradition to the USA
Chris Williamson
Former MP, UK
“I wrote to the Home Secretary to outline why Julian’s ongoing detention is unjust and to reiterate the point that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has been making for years, in requesting that Julian Assange be freed.”
The Left in the European Parliament
Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left
Statement on Julian Assange’s arrest by UK authorities