The Trial of Julian Assange

In July 2010, Wikileaks published Cablegate, one of the biggest leaks in the history of the US military, including evidence of war crimes and torture. In the aftermath, Julian Assange, the founder and spokesman of Wikileaks, found himself at the centre of a media storm, accused of hacking and later sexual assault. He spent the next seven years in asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, fearful that he would be extradited to Sweden to face the accusations of assault and then sent to the US. In 2019, Assange was handed over to the British police, and on the same day, the U.S. demanded his extradition. They threatened him with up to 175 years in prison for alleged espionage and computer fraud.

At this point, Nils Melzer, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, started his investigation into how the US and UK governments were working together to ensure a conviction. His findings are explosive, revealing that Assange has faced grave and systematic due process violations, judicial bias, collusion, and manipulated evidence. He has been the victim of constant surveillance, defamation, and threats. Melzer also gathered consolidated medical evidence that proves that the prisoner has suffered prolonged psychological torture.

Melzer’s compelling investigation, detailed in The Trial of Julian Assange, puts the UK state into the dock, showing how, through secrecy, impunity, and, crucially, public indifference, unchecked power reveals a deeply undemocratic system. Furthermore, the Assange case sets a dangerous precedent: once telling the truth becomes a crime, censorship and tyranny will inevitably follow.