<nettime> "I visited Julian Assange in prison, what can you do?"

[Krystian Woznicki <kw@berlinergazette.de>]

Hello nettimers,

our neighbors and friends Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25) are
fighting for their imprisoned member Julian Assange
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Assange) and DiEM25's co-founder
Srećko Horvat just wrote a report about his recent visit, entitled "I
visited Julian Assange in prison, what can you do?", explaining that the
fight for the freedom of Julian Assange is ultimately a fight for what
democracy in our age still is or could be – and why it is worth joining
this fight. Please read the report below and share it widely.  Stay
tuned, Krystian

On 12.11.19 15:03, Srećko | DiEM25 wrote:

“Every time we witness an injustice and do not act, we train our
character to be passive in its presence and thereby eventually lose all
ability to defend ourselves and those we love.”
― Julian Assange

Krystian,

The last time I saw Julian Assange, exactly one year ago, when he was
still at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, I didn't know yet that the
next time I would see him would be in a high-security prison.
 
I didn't visit as a journalist, as a lawyer, nor as a family member - I
came as a friend.
 
But not only as a friend – I've also visited Julian as a member and one
of the co-founders of DiEM25, the movement that has continuously
stressed that the freedom of Julian Assange is a European issue, a
precedent that might have dire consequences for Democracy and Freedom of
Press in Europe. And of course - his life.  
 
To be completely honest, I wasn't prepared for a prison visit. I wasn't
prepared cause I didn't know if the visit will take place at all up
until the very last moment. But more importantly, I simply couldn't: how
can you possibly be prepared for visiting a friend in prison?
 
It's not that those of us who had previously visited Julian at the
Ecuadorian Embassy in London were not prepared for a situation like
this. But no one could have quite imagined that it would be as brutal as
it actually was. That he would be dragged out of the Embassy, after his
asylum was revoked as if he was a war criminal and not an arbitrarly
detained publisher as the UN has ruled in 2015 and UN officials repeated
multiple times

Then Ecuador handed over all his belongings including legal notes and two manuscripts, to the United States. Julian
ended up in Belmarsh prison where he served his bail sentence until
September 22, after which he's been kept there solely for the purpose of
the extradition to the US. His prison conditions have not changed, he is
still basically in solitary confinement, 23 hours in his cell, facing
extradition to the US where he's charged for espionage and 175 years in
prison sentence.
 
The last time I met him (and CIA will probably know the exact date) was
in November 2019. The only thing I can still recall now is that it must
have been November, because there was an exhibition of Antonio Gramsci's
"Prison Notebooks" on display in London for the first time - actually
just a few corners away from Knightsbridge.
 
It was a rather strange synchronicity, a sort of temporal and spatial
"return of the repressed", namely, a fatal reminder that Julian might
end up in prison too. Gramsci, who was one of the greatest political
minds of the 20th century was imprisoned by the Italian Fascist regime
of Benito Mussolini in 1926, and compiled the notebooks while he was in
prison, in 33 volumes, between 1929 and 1935. These are an important
contribution to 20th century political theory and philosophy, including
pertinent insights into the architectures of power, hegemony,
institutions, state, organisation.
 
As I was visiting Julian in the Embassy last November, I couldn't get
rid of the thought that he is, just like Gramsci, a *political prisoner*
whose thoughts about the complex issues and challenges of the early 21st
century were of great value for the cognitive mapping of our crazy
world. Whether he was thinking or speaking about the role of
institutions and the importance of transparency, about technology or
geopolitics, Julian was always not only the best informed one but also
someone who's ability to "zoom out", to grasp and understand the "big
picture", connecting all the dots (and facts) has certainly lead to a
better understanding of today's world. From various military
interventions to military coups, from war crimes to human rights violations.
 
Clearly, from the beginning of his imprisonment, Assange, just like
Gramsci, decided that his struggle will not end there. But unlike
Gramsci, Julian is still not able to write prison notebooks, and we hope
he won't be writing them in prison. But that depends also on you.
 
As I was standing in the waiting room of the prison, I looked at the
seated families that gathered and waited for their numbers to be called
in, to finally meet their beloved ones.
 
I don't know them, but I could have seen their worried faces, even faces
of small children, who were passing by the guards with control dogs in
between the waiting room and meeting room - probably with similar
anxieties and feelings as myself.
 
Yet, I was not visiting a criminal. Of that I was sure. The real
criminals were those whose war crimes he, Julian Assange, exposed and
who want him in an even worse high-security prison than this one, in the
United States of Donald Trump. It is sufficient to watch "Collateral
Murder" again,  in order to understand why they want him extradited. Or why they
(some familiar faces) even thought of assassinating Assange:

I have visited Belmarsh prison with Julian's father, John Shipton, a
humble, committed and determined man, whose graceful gestures and
even-tempered voice lead me through the prison in a protective way as if
it wasn't him who is in a more difficult situation than myself. With his
thoughtfulness, he reminds me of Julian. And it must be hard for him,
him who moved to England to be close to his son, him who travels across
Europe to meet with lawyers and supporters, but he was strong. And as we
were standing there, a wife of a prisoner came up to John to say her
husband supports Julian and that the isolation they are putting him
through-departing him from other prisoners is inhuman.

When we finally entered the room and I came closer to the table where
Julian was sitting, he stood up and we immediately and spontaneously
hugged. And it was the strongest hug we have ever exchanged. For
apparent reasons. Last time we saw each other he was at the Ecuadorian
Embassy, now he was in a high-security prison. Last time we talked he
still had an uncertain future, this time it was quite clear – unless he
is freed, he might die in prison, to repeat the words of his father John
Shipton, and Nils Melzner UN Special Rapporteur on Torture who recently warned
that Julian's life is now at risk.

Everyone should read what Craig Murray has written about in "Assange in
Court.

So obviously most of our conversation – surveilled all the time, of
course – pertained to his situation and the danger he is facing.

 
Even though he has visibly suffered since the last time saw each other,
even though he has lost 15 kilos in weight, and even though his life
might be at risk, Julian was fully focused. Perhaps he was pausing more
than usual, taking more time to gather his thoughts, sometimes
struggling, visibly shaken by difficult prison conditions, but at the
same time he used his usual dark humor, unexpected analogies and
abstract thought. We talked about how his case was not just about him -
although it is clearly about his life - how it is about human rights,
freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and last but not least, democracy.
 
He was really glad to hear about all the actions and events organized by
his supporters across the world, from the WE ARE MILLIONS  exhibitions
across Europe to the Australian endeavours to bring Julian home. Just
later that day, John and me joined a protest, in front of UK Home Office where hundreds of people gathered for the
concert by rappers M.I.A. and Lowkey.
 
I know how much Julian loved M.I.A.'s song "Paper Planes" and I wished
he could have been there. In the Embassy, even if the situation was far
from ideal (let's never forget, he was in "arbitrary detention"), we
would listen to music from time to time. Besides M.I.A., there was also
Rage Against the Machine, so earlier that day in prison I mentioned that
RATM is reuniting - and he smiled.
 
As I was going to Belmarsh prison I was thinking whether this
information was relevant at all, should I mention it? It seemed totally
irrelevant having in mind the short time we would have together during
the visit, but at the same time, these are the kind of news that can
make someone smile. Even for a brief moment.
 
Once you exit the high-security prison, once you are suddenly back
"outside", back to "your normal life", while he is still "inside"
waiting for a letter or another short visit, most of his time completely
alone in his cell, what you've just been through hits you like a belated
arrow: why is Julian not able to exit these doors? Why is he not able to
spend time with his family and friends, to recover from the 10 years of
persecution? Why is he not free to go to a concert by Rage Against the
Machine? Why is he not teaching at a UK University, definitely a better
way of using his talents, instead of suffering in prison? And so many
other questions.
 
That short moment of happiness was perhaps a message in a bottle from a
better - and still possible - future, but what about the rest of the 23
hours in his solitary cell? He said I should tell you that he uses his
time in a cell to walk and think, around 10-15 km each day, imagining he
is walking across Europe. He reads the letters, although they are still
coming in with much delay. And he is grateful to everyone. And even in
this difficult situation, he said it is not just about him, it is about
the very essence of democracy.
 
But it is also about him. It is about his life.
 
So what can you do?
 
Don't wait, do whatever you can. And do it now. Write him a letter about
the "outside" world (with facts about relevant events and how concretely
you are helping him), force your MPs to take action and ask your
political parties what they are doing to protect freedom of press and
prevent the extradition of Julian Assange, organize and join protests;
write to NGOs and individuals who deal with human rights and press
freedom and ask them what they are doing to free Julian; donate to his
defense fund <https://defend.wikileaks.org/donate/> 
and make sure to join DiEM25 <https://internal.diem25.org/users/sign_up/> as
we will continue to stand with our member Julian Assange and fight until
he is free.
 
Together, we can win!

Srećko Horvat
*>>DiEM25 *Co-founder

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