Dream - Approximately 800 people swarmed the field. They attended a protest in Sydney, Australia, demanding the immediate release of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, who is currently imprisoned in the UK. People came from all over New South Wales and the entire country to attend the demonstration, which was one of the largest protests demanding Assange's freedom, even though it was held on a working day. Stella Assange, Assange's wife, and Stephen Kenny, Julian Assange's Australian lawyer, led the protest in Sydney on Wednesday, May 24, 2023.

Speaking at the demonstration, Stella Assange, Julian's wife, stated that the protesters "are at the forefront of the global movement for justice. A global movement centered around one person, but its meaning goes far beyond Julian's freedom. It's not just Julian who has lost his freedom, but all of us. Because in order to keep Julian in prison, they have to violate their own rules and principles." She explained the importance of the struggle in Australia to ensure her husband's freedom. Assange is detained in the UK and facing extradition to the US, where he will be tried under the Espionage Act with a potential sentence of 175 years in prison for exposing American war crimes.

Assange is an Australian citizen. Stella explained: "Julian's case is a case of global importance. But you are the ones at the center because Julian is an Australian. He is a country boy, and he comes from this country. That means the key to freeing Julian is in your hands." In June 2023, the judge in the final court in the UK rejected the last appeal and decided that the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, will soon be extradited to the United States. There, he will face criminal charges with a prison sentence of 175 years. For almost a decade, Assange has been accused of committing three major crimes by three different governments.

First, in 2010 he was accused of rape and sexual harassment against two women in Sweden. Second, he was accused of breaching bail conditions in the UK. And third, he was accused of violating the Fraud and Abuse Act by the US Department of Justice. The US also investigated him for espionage charges, publishing sensitive government documents, and coordinating with Russia. Here are some important events and details in Assange's life:

July 1971 Assange was born in Townsville, Australia, to parents involved in theater. As a teenager, he gained a reputation as a computer programmer and hacker, and in 1995 he was fined for hacking into computers but avoided jail on the condition that he would not commit any further offenses. In 2006, Assange founded WikiLeaks, creating an internet-based "dead letter drop" to leak secret or sensitive information. On April 5, 2010, WikiLeaks released a leaked video of a US helicopter attack that killed civilians in Baghdad, including two Reuters news staff.

25 July 2010WikiLeaks released over 91,000 documents, mostly classified US military reports on the war in Afghanistan.October 2010WikiLeaks released 400,000 classified military files documenting the Iraq War. The following month, they released thousands of US diplomatic cables, including candid views from foreign leaders and frank assessments of security threats.18 November 2010 Swedish court ordered the arrest of Assange on charges of rape, which he denied. He was arrested in the UK the following month under a European Arrest Warrant but was released on bail.

February 2011 Westminster Magistrates Court in London ordered Assange's extradition to Sweden. He appealed. On June 14, 2012, the UK Supreme Court rejected Assange's final appeal, and five days later he sought refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and sought political asylum. Assange walked into the Ecuadorian Embassy in Knightsbridge, central London. He requested political asylum, fearing that he would eventually be extradited to the US and potentially face decades in prison.

The publication of large amounts of classified information by WikiLeaks about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as American diplomatic memos, has made Assange famous and sparked anger among US intelligence and defense officials. On August 16, 2012, Ecuador granted Assange's request for asylum. This means that Assange can be confident that the police cannot enter and arrest him - as long as he does not leave the building - due to special diplomatic immunity rules. Metropolitan police are guarding the building to be on alert in case he tries to escape to a safe place in a South American country.

2014 July: Defeat for Assange as the Australian citizen loses in his legal efforts to have the Swedish authorities revoke the arrest warrant. August: There are speculations that Assange requires medical treatment in a hospital due to heart and lung issues. He stated in a press conference that he would soon leave the embassy but denied claims that he would cease his fight regarding extradition to Sweden.

September: The legal team filed a complaint to the UN about the actions of the UK and Sweden. They stated that his detention without charges is equivalent to illegal detention. November: Assange lost the appeal in Sweden against the decision to revoke the arrest warrant. December: American linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky and Hollywood actor John Cusack visited Assange.

Other famous visitors who visited the embassy during their stay included former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson - who stopped by for lunch several times, Lady Gaga, Eric Cantona, and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson. However, Benedict Cumberbatch was avoided by WikiLeaks boss. The actor portrayed him in the film "The Fifth Estate" and wanted to meet him to study his behavior. Assange rejected the book that served as the basis for the film and called it "misguided."

On April 13, 2017, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was then serving as the Head of the CIA, described WikiLeaks as a "non-state intelligence agency that often colludes with state actors such as Russia". On May 19, 2017, Swedish prosecutors halted their investigation, stating that it was not possible to continue the investigation while Assange was in the Ecuadorian embassy.

11 April 2019 After seven years, Assange was taken out of the Ecuadorian embassy and arrested after Ecuador revoked his political asylum. He was sentenced to 50 weeks in prison on May 1 by a British court for breaching bail. He completed his sentence early but remained in prison awaiting extradition proceedings. Assange was arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy after the Ecuadorian ambassador "invited the British police" in. In a tweet, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt thanked the "Ecuadorian government for their cooperation".

The recording shows Assange skateboarding around his room at the Ecuadorian embassy and a heated argument between the WikiLeaks founder and a security guard. This happened when the Australian citizen's lawyer claimed that allegations about his client's behavior - including that he had smeared the walls with excrement - were fabricated as a pretext to force him out of the embassy. On May 13, 2019, Swedish prosecutors reopened their investigation and stated that they would seek Assange's extradition to Sweden.

23 May 2019The US Department of Justice has filed 17 new charges against Assange, accusing him of violating the Espionage Act by publishing classified military and diplomatic documents. The indictment states that Assange "repeatedly encouraged sources with access to classified information to steal and provide it to Wikileaks for disclosure." Wikileaks tweeted that the announcement is "madness" and "the end of national security journalism and the First Amendment."

11 June 2019 The US Department of Justice officially requested the United Kingdom to extradite Assange to the US to face charges that he conspired to hack into US government computers and violated espionage laws with a prison sentence of 175 years. 19 November 2019 Swedish prosecutors canceled their investigation into the rape allegations, citing insufficient evidence to press charges, partly due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

4 January 2021 English Judge Vanessa Baraitser concluded that extraditing Assange to the United States is an "oppressive" act due to his fragile mental health, and stated that there is a real risk that Assange will commit suicide. December 2021 Overturning the previous decision, the High Court in London won the US appeal to extradite Assange. 23 March 2022 Assange married his fiancée Stella Moris in Belmarsh prison. He wore a dress designed by Dame Vivienne Westwood. The couple was accompanied by their two sons, Gabriel, 4 years old, and Max, 2 years old, as well as Assange's father and brother, Richard and Gabriel Shipton.

April 2022The London Court issued an extradition order for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, where he will be tried for charges under the Espionage Act for his role in publishing thousands of classified documents that exposed the atrocities committed by American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. If convicted in the US, Assange could face up to 175 years in prison.

17 June 2022The British government has approved the US government's request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for trial over the publication of classified military files, which sparked anger among top US military and intelligence officials. The Home Office, under Home Secretary Priti Patel, said Assange has 14 days to appeal the decision.

6th June 2023 In his ruling, Judge Swift stated that Assange's appeal application has been rejected, stating that "none of the four grounds of appeal raised any debatable points." All legal efforts to prevent Assange's extradition to the US have failed. Assange will officially be deported to the US to face criminal charges of violating the Espionage Act, which could result in a prison sentence of 175 years. Tragic! (eha) Source: WSWS, Sky News, BBC, CNN