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by Sporktacular 1511 days ago
Journalists with sources that leak classified information are not unusual and they almost never go to jail for it or get hounded for it to this extent.

If the same rules were, as you say, being applied to Assange, he would have been freed a long time ago.

Hard to see where you're coming from. Trials aren't the only stage at which accused people can be released.
1 comments
vkou 1510 days ago
He's not indicted for broadcasting classified information, he's indicted for hacking. For helping get access to classified information.

It's the difference between a journalist spending a week in the jungle with a group of partisans, and a journalist spending a week in the jungle shooting guns at convoys and blowing up rail lines with a group of partisans. The former's a journalist, the latter's a guerrilla.

If the allegations are correct, Assange is closer to the latter. If they aren't, he's closer to the former. Right now, he's doing his best to make sure we'll never know, because the latter carries serious consequences.

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Sporktacular 1509 days ago
Wrong. Counts 9 to 17 of his indictment are for "Disclosure of Nation Defense Information". He IS indicted for broadcasting classified information.

There is also 1 count of "Conspiracy to Commit Computer Intrusion" which is minor compared to the 17 other indictments. It related to him trying to crack offline a password hash to let Manning log in as a different user. Which is assisting someone who does the actual collection of information.

The remaining indictments are for "Conspiracy to Receive" NDI or for obtaining it.

In other words he was embedded with the partisans and when asked to pass a box of ammo, did so. The hacking count can lead to 5 years in prison with possible parole. It's a tortured interpretation to suggest he hacked/blew up rail lines.

The rest, the REAL reason to pursue someone internationally for a decade for extraterritorial acts is for his journalistic function. To make an example. Otherwise this case would have been dropped.

https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Assa...

Have you watched Collateral Murder? To see that and think justice would be served by burying it would be like watching The Running Man and rooting for the game show host. Again, hard to understand where you're coming from.

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