WikiLeaks about to hit the fan

WikiLeaks - The Forgotten Man
Updated June 20, 2012 10:40:00/Four Corners/ABC television


Next on Four Corners - a return to the remarkable story of "WikiLeaks -The Forgotten Man", Bradley Manning.

Private Bradley Manning was the man U.S. authorities allege stole classified military files, providing them to WikiLeaks for publication.

While WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange battles to avoid extradition from the United Kingdom to Sweden, on the other side of the Atlantic Bradley Manning is facing a court martial. If found guilty he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

It's a case that has all the hallmarks of a spy thriller. Bradley Manning was a U.S. soldier serving in Iraq, when he allegedly downloaded classified files onto a disk storing Lady Gaga songs. It's alleged he then confided what he'd done to a computer hacker. A short time later the authorities arrested Manning and he's been in a military jail ever since.

Early last year reporter Quentin McDermott told the story of Bradley Manning and the people who'd helped the United States government build a case against him. Now Four Corners reprises the program, updating it with crucial new elements describing the ferocious battle between hackers and the U.S. government as they pursue Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.

The program also talks to Juan Mendez, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, about the treatment of Bradley Manning. Mr Mendez says Manning was subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment during his "excessive and prolonged isolation" at Quantico Marine Corps Base outside Washington.

The question remains: will Bradley Manning attempt to avoid a life sentence by turning against Julian Assange?

The reprise of "WikiLeaks- The Forgotten Man", reported by Quentin McDermott and presented by Kerry O'Brien goes to air on Monday 18th June at 8.30 PM on ABC1. It is replayed on Tuesday 19th June at 11.35 PM. It can also be seen on ABC News24 on Saturday at 8.00 PM, on ABC iview or at 4 Corners.

WikiLeaked Documents Still Secret, Judge Says
(RYAN ABBOTT, Courthouse News Service, July 24, 2012)

A federal judge said the State Department need not release information already published by WikiLeaks because the information is still covered by the national security exemption to the Freedom of Information Act.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation sued to force the State Department to release "embassy cables concerning this nation's affairs" - information already released by third-party WikiLeaks - but U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that the government is justified in withholding the information.

"The twenty-three embassy cables cover a range of sensitive subjects, including investigations of individuals suspected of acts of terrorism, bilateral relations with foreign nations, and military operations," Kollar-Kotelly ruled.

The government released 11 cables, partially or completely withholding the rest.

"In this case, the ACLU contends that the twenty-three embassy cables it seeks in this action must be disclosed because they are allegedly already in the public domain after being published by third-party WikiLeaks and because the State Department has purportedly acknowledged their authenticity," Kollar-Kotelly wrote, summing up the ACLU's argument.

"The ACLU couches this basic contention in a variety of forms but this much is clear: the ACLU has not met the exacting standard demanded by settled precedent. No matter how extensive, the WikiLeaks disclosure is no substitute for an official acknowledgement and the ACLU has not shown that the Executive has officially acknowledged that the specific information at issue was a part of the WikiLeaks disclosure."

The information withheld concerned a variety of sensitive information, including details on military flight operations and procedures for obtaining allied cooperation in them, the judge found. It also contained assessments and recommendations relating to affairs with Afghanistan, Ireland, Libya, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Tunisia, the United Kingdom and Yemen.

Sweden given OK to interview Assange in Ecuadoran embassy
(By Douglas Stanglin, USA TODAY, July 26, 2012)

Swedish authorities have been given permission to interview Wikileaks founder Julian Assange who has been living in the Ecuadoran embassy in London since he sought asylum there last month, the BBC reports.

Assange has been living in a 15-square-foot room at the embassy since June 19 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault charges, The Guardian reports.

Ecuadoran diplomats say they are seeking British assurances that Assange will not be extradited to the United States after legal proceedings with Sweden are completed, the newspaper says.

The Guardian says Assange's lawyers believe there are secret plans to extradite him to the U.S. to face trial on possible espionage-related charges stemming from the publication of classified documents on the Wikileaks website.

"The evil that Ecuador wishes to prevent is the extradition [of Assange] to the U.S.," a senior legal adviser at the embassy tells The Guardian. "Now if there are ways and means of that being tied down, I think that would be a just solution."

Swedish authorities have been given permission to interview Wikileaks founder Julian Assange who has been living in the Ecuadoran embassy in London since he sought asylum there last month, the BBC reports. ...

... "The evil that Ecuador wishes to prevent is the extradition (of Assange) to the U.S.," a senior legal adviser at the embassy tells The Guardian. "Now if there are ways and means of that being tied down, I think that would be a just solution."

.... Two officials at the Ecuadorean embassy said it had been seeking assurances from both the UK and Sweden that Assange would not be eventually sent to the US, but had received no answer. They said Ecuador would now formally ask the US if there were any legal proceedings against Assange or "an investigation which has identified him as a target and which may result in a later extradition request".

... A political adviser to the Ecuadorean government said Assange's asylum claim had presented the country with "an absolutely extraordinary case" that placed it at the centre of a global controversy involving four other countries: the UK, Sweden, the US and Australia, where Assange was born and remains a citizen.

Ecuador was seeking to be an "honest broker", he said, while meeting its international obligations. He said that on Wednesday, Ecuador formally offered the Swedish prosecutor the opportunity to interview Assange inside the London embassy. Sweden had not responded to the proposal.

Most of the discussions have focused on seeking to establish whether, once Swedish legal proceedings against Assange are resolved, there will be any attempts to extradite him to the US. ....

... Assange's US lawyer, Michael Ratner, said he was certain Assange had already either been secretly indicted by a grand jury in Washington or would face extradition with a view to prosecution. He believed the death penalty remained a possibility.

"I have no doubt there is a serious investigation, which has gone on, and is continuing, into Julian Assange and WikiLeaks," he said. However, Ratner said it was highly unlikely the US would confirm to Ecuador or any other party that it intended to prosecute Assange. ....

The following human rights problems continued: isolated unlawful killings and use of excessive force by security forces, sometimes with impunity; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; corruption and other abuses by security forces; a high number of pretrial detainees; and corruption and denial of due process within the judicial system. President Correa and his administration continued verbal and legal attacks against the independent media. Societal problems continued, including physical aggression against journalists; violence against women; discrimination against women, indigenous persons, Afro-Ecuadorians, and lesbians and gay men; trafficking in persons and sexual exploitation of minors; and child labor.

I'd really like him to face those charges in Sweden. It boggles the mind that he's been able to dodge them this long.

Olga is thanking Ecuador for their glorious defense of an Australian citizen's rights; not having a clue concerning how it may view and abuse the rights of Ecuadorian citizens.

I wish you wouldn't assume I haven't looked into it.