Supporters of jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange unfurled banners near a conference center in London that is hosting the Global Conference for Media Freedom on Wednesday, a Sputnik correspondent reported
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th July, 2019) Supporters of jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange unfurled banners near a conference center in London that is hosting the Global Conference for Media Freedom on Wednesday, a Sputnik correspondent reported.The two-day conference kicked off in the UK capital earlier on Wednesday. Russia's RT broadcaster and Sputnik news agency were barred from the media freedom event over what the Foreign Office claimed was their "active role in spreading disinformation."
The activists, some of whom taped their mouths with US flags, are greeting conference guests with banners that read: "Media Freedom. What about Julian Assange?", "Free Assange. No U.S. Extradition," "Facing 175 Years For Exposing War Crimes," "Hunt = Liar, Clooney = Traitor."
Among the topics of the conference are "Trust in the Media: the UK in focus," "Safety and Protection of Journalists 1: Understanding the Contemporary Threats," "Supporting Media Freedom in Challenging Environments," "Safety of Female Journalists" and others.
The majority of plenary sessions are devoted to the safety issues but also to media freedom in regions across the world. The high-profile case of Assange, who is currently kept in London's high-security Belmarsh prison and awaiting the court decision on the US extradition request over espionage charges, is however off the media freedom conference's agenda.
Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders, the Time magazine, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Association of Freelance Journalists, the Association of Foreign Press and other organizations championing safety and protection of the rights of journalists are represented by own stands at the conference.
UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and his Canadian counterpart, Chrystia Freeland, as well as Amal Clooney, a former member of Assange's legal team, are also among the participants of the conference.
Assange gained fame after WikiLeaks published a large number of classified documents, including some that exposed abuses of power and war crimes committed by US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, and at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. If extradited to the United States, the whistleblower will face up to 175 years in a US jail. On June 13, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid said that he had signed the US request, with hearings of Assange's extradition case now scheduled for February 2020. The trial will last for five days and be preceded by several technical hearings.
