Past Events

Julian Assange is finally free! And we are celebrating. To commemorate Julian’s freedom and the activist community around the world that worked tirelessly for many years to help secure his release, Assange Defense hosted events in NYC, Washington DC, and Berkeley, CA, to celebrate and reflect on this… Read more: VIDEO: Assange Defense hosts Berkeley celebration of Julian’s freedom

On October 1, 2024, Julian Assange broke his silence. The WikiLeaks founder testified before the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) about the chilling effect his detention and conviction has had on human rights. When Assange was detained,The Committee… Read more: Assange Testifies: Journalists React

Julian Assange is finally free! And we are celebrating. To commemorate Julian’s freedom and the activist community around the world that worked tirelessly for many years to help secure his release, Assange Defense hosted 3 events to celebrate and reflect on this important victory in the biggest press… Read more: VIDEO: Assange Defense hosts DC celebration of Julian’s freedom

May 18, 2024 — The latest installment in our “Start with the Truth” partnership with Stella Assange, an ongoing webinar series featuring discussions among experts on key aspects of Julian Assange’s case, gives a preview of the upcoming May 20th hearing in London. Our panelists this month are:

April 13, 2024 — Continuing our new monthly webinar series, ‘Start with the Truth,’ in partnership with Stella Assange, this month we present ‘Debunking the ‘WikiLeaks Harm’ smear,” an investigation into WikiLeaks’ redaction process, particularly around the Iraq and Afgan War Logs, and the U.S. government’s evidence-free claim… Read more: Debunking the ‘WikiLeaks Harm’ smear

March 26, 2024 — This morning in London, the UK’s High Court ruled on Julian Assange’s request to appeal his extradition to the United States. The ruling delayed Assange’s extradition, but only to allow the U.S. government to give assurances as to how Julian would be treated (in… Read more: VIDEO: Expert panel reacts to Assange appeal decision

March 2, 2024 — Assange Defense and Stella Assange present a new monthly webinar series, “Start with the Truth.” The topic for March is, “So, what now?”, a recap of Julian Assange’s latest extradition hearing in the UK and a look at what’s next. This month’s panelists are… Read more: Start with the Truth: So, what now?

Day X is here: February 20-21, imprisoned publisher Julian Assange returns to court in London for his final bid to appeal his extradition to the United States where he would face life in prison for publishing truthful information in the public interest. Human rights leaders and civil liberties… Read more: Day X protests to Free Assange

December 9, 2023 — As the extradition case against Julian Assange is entering its final phase, the Belmarsh Tribunal returns to Washington D.C. Courage Foundation is proud to partner with Progressive International and other media and media freedom organizations to bear witness to the Biden administration’s crackdown on… Read more: The Belmarsh Tribunal returns to Washington D.C.

May 4, 2023 — Yesterday was World Press Freedom Day, a day in which the United States’ hypocrisy over its stated support of freedom of the press was on full display. U.S. officials held events and press conferences to claim they support protections for journalists around the world,… Read more: Julian Assange, World Press Freedom Day, and U.S. Hypocrisy 

by Francisco Herrera and Dennis Bernstein This is a song to promote the freedom of Julian Assange. Free Julian Assange by Francisco Herrera and Dennis BernsteinFree Julian Assange by Francisco Herrera and Dennis Bernstein lyrics FREE JULIAN NOW 1. Military chopper opens fireInstruments of genocideWiki-leaks unmasked the liarsOf the… Read more: Listen: Free Julian Assange

International Human Rights Day brings activists together to speak out on behalf of Julain Assange and in defense of freedom of the press By Vince DeStefano December 14, 2022 To commemorate International Human Rights Day and in concert with actions across the United States and around the world,… Read more: Standing Up for Julian Assange during International Human Rights Day

Speeches by Jill Stein, Chip Gibbons, Rev. Annie Chambers, Ben Cohen, Chris Hedges, and dozens more followed a march around the DOJ. Protests around the country to free Assange

On October 8, 2022, supporters of Julian Assange in London, where Assange is imprisoned, are forming a human chain to surround Parliament in a demonstration of mass support for the jailed journalist. Supporters around the world are holding rallies locally in solidarity with the London action. See this… Read more: Oct. 8th Assange rallies across the U.S.

Roger Waters joined a rally organized by DC Action for Assange and Assange Defense at the Department of Justice today, and he spoke out against the prosecution of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange. Waters had just performed in Washington DC the previous night — Waters has partnered with Assange… Read more: Roger Waters joins DOJ rally, tells Merrick Garland to free Julian Assange

Stella Assange, wife of Julian Assange, Vijay Prashad, journalist (International Peoples’ Assembly) and Zuliana Lainez, vice-president of the IFJ (International Federation of Journalists), held a panel discussion which ran parallel to the 50th Ordinary Session of the UN Human Rights Council. The objective of the event is to… Read more: The Assange case: international solidarity and implications for press freedom globally

For all citizens: For journalists only: At the invitation of the Swiss Press Club in Geneva, Swiss and international organizations of journalists and publishers as well as editors call with one voice for the release of Julian Assange in the name of freedom of the press, the June… Read more: Geneva Press Club: In the name of press freedom, media and journalists call for the release of Assange

June 6, 2022 — Assange Defense hosted a Twitter Spaces conversation among Stella Assange, Julian’s wife; Mike Miccioli, Harvard student who organized the May 29th protest of Attorney General Merrick Garland’s commencement speech; and Susan McLucas, Boston Area Assange Defense campaigner.

On Sunday, May 29, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland gave the commencement speech at the Harvard University graduation ceremony for the class of 2020-21. Harvard students teamed up with Boston Area Assange Defense and other local activists to protest Garland’s speech over the continued prosecution of Julian Assange. … Read more: Harvard students, local activists protest Merrick Garland’s commencement speech over Assange prosecution

What is a war of aggression? What is a war crime? What are crimes against humanity? How is the public to know when they occur and by whom they are perpetrated? What and who censors the press and for what reasons? Why didn’t we listen when Julian Assange… Read more: VIDEO: WikiLeaks & War Crimes

Video: panel event marking three years of Julian Assange’s imprisonment

The International Journalism Festival in Italy hosted “Julian Assange and Wikileaks: freedom of information on trial” “The most consequential trial against journalism is reaching a critical point as UK courts are set to issue the order to extradite the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, to face a 175-year sentence… Read more: VIDEO: Panel on Assange at the International Journalism Festival

Inspired by the Russell-Sartre Tribunals of the late 1960s, which put the US government on trial for its war crimes in Vietnam, the Belmarsh Tribunal exposes the crimes of the so-called War on Terror 20 years after the first prisoners were brought to Guantánamo Bay — and calls for Julian Assange’s… Read more: VIDEO: The Belmarsh Tribunal comes to the United States

“The case of Julian Assange sets a chilling precedent: for when telling the truth has become a crime, we will all be living in a tyranny.”

If the Biden Administration persists in demanding Julian Assange’s removal from Great Britain to the United States, investigative journalism as we know it will be in mortal danger. Future administrations will claim a legal basis to extradite any journalist, anywhere in the world – whether they’re American citizens… Read more: VIDEO: Progressive Democrats of America Town Hall on the Case of Julian Assange

Expert panel discusses the impact of Assange’s prosecution on press freedom, the ramifications of the High Court’s decision, and what comes next.

What the persecution of Assange means for the rest of us and what you can do about it

Just days before Julian Assange returns to court in London as the United States government appeals his extradition decision before the UK’s High Court, supporters are calling for Assange’s freedom at rallies and vigils across the United States and around the world.  What’s Next for Julian Assange? Will revelations of… Read more: Free Assange Events Across the US Ahead of UK Appeal

George Martin compares Darnella Frazier and Julian Assange Stand for Peace rally: October 23, 2021

Rally: October 22, 2021

Join us for an hour of hip hop performance, testimonials, and updates on Julian Assange’s free speech fight. A powerful performance by rapper BALi-KiD at this weekend’s ‘Repressing Free Speech: From Hip Hop to Julian Assange’ event. #FreeAssange pic.twitter.com/QGBWnmIjkX — Assange Defense (@DefenseAssange) October 25, 2021 BALi-KiD Part… Read more: Repressing Free Speech: From Hip Hop to Julian Assange

A Night of Comedy and Satire in Support of Julian Assange with Lee Camp & Randy Credico. Special Guests: Max Blumenthal, Margaret Kunstler, and John Kiriakou Jazz Piano by Steve Jones

Featuring: Maj. Danny Sjursen, U.S. Army Veteran and Director of Eisenhower Media Network Capt. Matt Hoh, Former U.S. Marine Corps Captain and State Department Officer Special Agent Coleen Rowley, Former FBI Agent and Whistleblower Moderated by author, activist and spiritual thought leader Marianne Williamson. 

Video: A CODEPINK event, featuring Julian Assange’s partner and half-brother

Watch this panel event hosted by the Chicago branch of the Assange Defense Committee

A global examination of Julian Assange’s case and press freedom: Video available in English, Spanish, and French

International rallies marked 2 years since Julian Assange was arrested and imprisoned in HMP Belmarsh

Watch the event, featuring an exclusive interview with Daniel Ellsberg, here

Video: Livestream event calling for Julian Assange’s freedom

Assange Defense teams up with United National Antiwar Coalition

First Amendment, Political Prisoners, Assange Extradition

Sunday, January 17th 2021 |   11:00am CST/ 12:00pm EST Hosted by the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee Speakers: Nils Melzer–United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Ray McGovern–former, longtime CIA Russia analyst, presidential daily briefer, and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) Moderator: Ann Batiza–Milwaukee Branch of the Assange Defense… Read more: The Trial of Julian Assange and its Implications for Press Freedom

Thursday, January 7th 2021 |   7pm GMT A roundtable discussion hosted by Stop the War Coalition Speakers: Tariq Ali Apsana Begum MP Jeremy Corbyn MP John Rees John Pilger 2021 is off to a dramatic start with the excellent news that the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States has… Read more: The Assange Case: What Next?

Sunday, Jan. 3 | 11am at the UK Consulate in New York City, a series of speakers on the impending ruling in Julian Assange’s extradition case

Monday, January 4th 2021 |   12pm PDT / 3pm EDT  Online Event: Register here Live reactions to the UK verdict, moderated by Shadowproof’s Kevin Gosztola Noam Chomsky Author, historian, and former MIT professor Marjorie Cohn Former president, National Lawyers Guild Daniel Ellsberg Pentagon Papers whistleblower On January 4, 2021,… Read more: Julian Assange Extradition Ruling

OR Books, the Courage Foundation, and DiEM25 are thrilled to launch our new book WE ARE MILLIONS. The team behind the #WeAreMillions project are joined by contributors Chris Hedges, Angela Richter, and Ben Cohen to discuss the book and the global support for Julian Assange as he fights extradition to… Read more: Book Launch: #WeAreMillions

28 November 2020 10 years ago on 28 November 2010 WikiLeaks started publishing over 250 000 US diplomatic cables known as Cablegate along with Der Spiegel, El Pais, Le Monde the Guardian. It has transformed journalism in the digital age. The cables have contributed significantly to public and… Read more: Marking the 10th anniversary of WikiLeaks’ Cablegate publication

15 August 2020 Preview(opens in a new tab) The Iraq war is the defining military conflict of the 21st century. Almost 10 years ago WikiLeaks published the Iraq War Logs along with The New York Times, The Guardian, El Pais, Washington Post and other news outlets. The Iraq… Read more: WikiLeaks’ Iraq War Logs and what it means for Press Freedom

8 August 2020 Organized by Courage Foundation an online panel of experts to examine what Julian Assange would endure and be up against if the United Kingdom extradites him to the U.S., from pre- and potentially post-trial prison conditions, the lack of a public interest defense under the… Read more: What would Julian Assange face in the U.S.?

25 July 2020 On the 10th year anniversary of the release of the Afghan War logs former soldier Joe Glenton, jailed for refusing to fight in Afghanistan, and WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson will discuss the effects of that war and the importance of the freedom of the press,… Read more: WikiLeaks, Afghan War Logs and Press Freedom

14 July 2020 Don’t Extradite Assange campaign special event Official launch of a film about the state torture on Assange, written, produced and directed by John Furse. A a film that will confound viewers just as the UN Special Rapporteur was confounded when he discovered the truth behind… Read more: ‘NOT IN OUR NAME: The Psychological Torture of Julian Assange’

20 June 2020, Online For the 10th year anniversary of WikiLeaks releasing Collateral Murder video, we commemorated this event with an online panel which you can watch here: Collateral Murder – 10 Years OnThe video shows how two Apache helicopters murdered 11 Iraqi people including two Rueters journalists.… Read more: The Assange Case and Collateral Murder

6 June 2020, Online Julian Assange has been subjected to psychological torture. That is the conclusion of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. But it is not the only medical issue in a case where the defendant is held in a prison where two inmates have died of… Read more: Julian Assange: Doctors speak out

16 May 2020, Online The UK’s already overcrowded prison system has been thrown into crisis by the outbreak of Covid 19. Prisoners and staff have suffered a high infection and death rate. The government at first promised an early release programme to reduce overcrowding, but then quickly abandoned… Read more: Prisons and the Covid crisis

9 May 2020, Online The Treaty under which the United States is seeking to extradite Julian Assange has been widely condemned, even by Boris Johnson, as unbalanced. Some 200 UK citizens have been extradited from Britain to the US. Only 11 Americans have been extradited to the UK.… Read more: The US-UK Extradition Treaty – Should it be replaced?

25 April 2020, Online A chance to learn first-hand from some of whistleblowers who have shaped what we know about modern politics, the importance of free speech, a free press, and the case of Julian Assange. With, who leaked the Pentagon Papers, Katharine Gun who revealed Iraq War… Read more: Whistleblowers for Assange

On the panel: John Pilger – award winning journalist, Stefania Maurizi- investigative journalist, Charles Glass – author, journalist, broadcaster

5 April 2020, Online The cockpit video of an Apache helicopter shooting journalists and Iraqi civilians became one of the greatest journalistic coups of this century when it was released 10 years ago. Ann Wright – retired United States Army colonel and retired U.S. State Department official, Kristinn… Read more: Collateral Murder – 10 Years On

The charges Julian Assange faces are a major threat to press freedom. After being forcibly removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy, Assange is now in a high security prison in London where he faces extradition to the United States and imprisonment for the rest of his life. At this… Read more: The Prosecution of Julian Assange & the Threat to the Freedom of the Press

22 February 2020, Parliament Square London First major protest march to Parliament Squaren in support of Assange was lead by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd and Greek MP Yanis Varoufakis.They were joined in their call not to extradite Julian Assange by Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, John Shipton… Read more: Demonstration over the extradition of Julian Assange at Parliament Square

4 February 2020, Logan Hall London Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell spoke at a public rally in central London joined by former Shadow Secretary of state Richard Burgon as well as Tim Dawson an executive of the National Union of Journalists, Nils Melzer the UN Special Rapporteur on… Read more: Press Freedom and the case of Julian Assange

5 November 2019, Home Office London, World famous artist MIA, Croatian philosopher, author and political activist Srećko Horvat, and British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, joined Julian Assange’s father John Shipton with this protest to halt the extradition case against Julian Assange.

2 September 2019, Home Office London World famous musician Roger Waters, the co-founder of Pink Floyd performed the band’s classic  ‘Wish You Were Here’ after speaking about the importance of empathizing with Julian and defending him. John Pilger, filmmaker and journalist, opened the event with an impassioned speech… Read more: Roger Water “Wish You Were Here” at Home Office