Moore and Stone stand behind Assange
In a powerful op-ed in the New York Times today, filmmakers Michael Moore and Oliver Stone defend Julian Assange and warn against the consequences of a US attempt to prosecute the founder of Wikileaks:
If Mr. Assange is extradited to the United States, the consequences will reverberate for years around the world. Mr. Assange is not an American citizen, and none of his actions have taken place on American soil. If the United States can prosecute a journalist in these circumstances, the governments of Russia or China could, by the same logic, demand that foreign reporters anywhere on earth be extradited for violating their laws. The setting of such a precedent should deeply concern everyone, admirers of WikiLeaks or not.
Read the full essay here.
Even if governments complain about matters of security and confidentiality, whistleblowers shouldn’t be chased down so doggedly. They’re often some of the few people who prevent governments from going over the line.