UK press conference denounces Assange indictments

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 11: Supporters of jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange condemned his arrest and indictments at a press briefing Tuesday in London, saying democracy and press freedom are on trial. The briefing was hosted by WikiLeaks’ editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson, Iceland’s former interior minister Ogmundur Jonasson and Christophe Marchand, a human rights lawyer who is part of Assange’s legal team. “We have maintained, and there is no doubt in my mind, that this is a watershed moment for the preservation of journalism. This is about press freedom,” said Hrafnsson. “The Assange case…is about the future of press freedom in our part of the world, where we have been rather privileged with relatively good standing. “It is a crackdown on press freedom, nothing less, and there is no doubt in my mind that there is a connection to other cases that we have seen in the last couple of weeks; a crackdown on journalists. It’s a very serious situation that we are seeing. It’s an attack on journalism, and it is all interlinked. That’s why it’s extremely important for journalists -- and I speak to you as a colleague – not to forget the fundamentals here and not to forget what the real issue is about,” he said. Hrafnsson also criticized Assange’s indictment last month by a federal grand jury in the U.S. state of Virginia on felony charges for being allegedly involved in the leaking of classified documents by former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, saying it revealed the true nature of the case. He also lambasted the U.S. Espionage Act of 1917, under which Assange faces a separate indictment, labelling it an “archaic” law that has never been used against a journalist and publisher. Assange’s legal battle against extradition to the U.S. will begin Friday, when he is set to appear in a London courtroom.(Footage by Tayfun Salci/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)