A UN human rights expert today issued an open letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, asking him to pardon Wikileaks
founder Julian Assange, who has been held in Belmarsh high security prison since his arrest by British authorities
inside the Embassy of Ecuador in London in April 2019.
A British court is set to rule on 4 January whether Assange should be extradited to the U.S. to face criminal
prosecution and, if convicted, up to 175 years in prison for the publication of secret documents through the
whistleblower platform WikiLeaks in 2010. This is the text of the letter from Nils Melzer, Special Rapporteur on torture
and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment:
“Mr. President,
Today, I respectfully request that you pardon Mr. Julian Assange.
Mr. Assange has been arbitrarily deprived of his liberty for the past ten years. This is a high price to pay for the
courage to publish true information about government misconduct throughout the world.
I visited Mr. Assange in Belmarsh High Security Prison in London, with two independent medical doctors, and I can attest
to the fact that his health has seriously deteriorated, to the point where his life is now in danger. Critically, Mr.
Assange suffers from a documented respiratory condition which renders him extremely vulnerable to the Covid-19 pandemic
that has recently broken out in the prison where he is being held.
I ask you to pardon Mr. Assange, because he is not, and has never been, an enemy of the American people. His
organization, WikiLeaks, fights secrecy and corruption throughout the world and, therefore, acts in the public interest
both of the American people and of humanity as a whole.
I ask because Mr. Assange has never published false information. The cause for any reputational harm that may have
resulted from his publications is not to be found in any misconduct on his part, but in the very misconduct which he
exposed.
I ask because Mr. Assange has not hacked or stolen any of the information he published. He has obtained it from
authentic documents and sources in the same way as any other serious and independent investigative journalists conduct
their work. While we may personally agree or disagree with their publications, they clearly cannot be regarded as
crimes.
I ask because prosecuting Mr. Assange for publishing true information about serious official misconduct, whether in
America or elsewhere, would amount to “shooting the messenger” rather than correcting the problem he exposed. This would
be incompatible with the core values of justice, rule of law and press freedom, as reflected in the American
Constitution and international human rights instruments ratified by the United States.
I ask because you have vowed, Mr. President, to pursue an agenda of fighting government corruption and misconduct; and
because allowing the prosecution of Mr. Assange to continue would mean that, under your legacy, telling the truth about
such corruption and misconduct has become a crime.
In pardoning Mr Assange, Mr. President, you would send a clear message of justice, truth and humanity to the American
people and to the world.
You would rehabilitate a courageous man who has suffered injustice, persecution and humiliation for more than a decade,
simply for telling the truth.
Last but not least, you would give back to Mr. Assange’s two young sons the loving father they need and look up to. You
would also reassure these children, and through them all children of the world, that there is nothing wrong with telling
the truth, but that it is the right thing to do; that it is honourable to fight for justice and, indeed, that these are
the values America and the world stand for.”
For these reasons, I respectfully appeal to you to pardon Julian Assange. Whatever our personal views and sympathies may
be, I believe that, after a decade of persecution, this man’s unjust suffering must end now.
Please, use your power of pardon to right the wrongs inflicted on Julian Assange, to end his unjust ordeal and reunite
him with his family!
I respectfully thank you for considering this appeal with foresight, generosity and compassion.
Please accept, Mr. President, the assurances of my highest consideration.”