A photo of Julian Assange with his mouth covered by the US flag. Photo: AP Photo/Frank Augstein.
The support of Gustavo Petro, Lula, and other Latin American leaders for the freedom of Julian Assange may be crucial for his release, former Ecuadorian consul in London, Fidel Narváez, told Sputnik. For the diplomat, the Assange case is “a political case” that requires “increasing international pressure” against the US.
In dialogue with Sputnik, Fidel Narváez, who accompanied Assange during his refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in the United Kingdom, acknowledged the importance of the support of Colombian President Gustavo Petro for Wikileaks and the demand for freedom for the Australian cyberactivist and journalist Julian Assange. “I think President Petro understands very well what the Assange case is about. We are talking about a political case,” Narváez said.
The former diplomat appreciated that Petro had expressed his solidarity with Assange even before his presidency. Now that he is power, said Narváez, Petro “has the opportunity to apply political pressure from his position in a case that is of world interest, because Assange is the most important political prisoner in the West.”
Petro Says Time to ‘Put Pressure’ on the US for Assange Case
In a meeting with a Wikileaks representatives in Bogotá, Petro promised to demand Assange’s release before US President Joe Biden, as well as to gather more support among other Latin American leaders. Wikileaks also had contacts with the president-elect of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, during the tour of a delegation from the platform through South America.
“Latin America has been the region in which Assange has found the most solidarity,” said Narváez. “Let’s not forget that he was sheltered in the Ecuadorian Embassy for almost seven years (between 2012 and 2019) and throughout that time several Latin American leaders expressed their support.” Among these leaders, Narváez recalled, has been Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who also offered asylum to the founder of Wikileaks.
Latin American presidents’ expressions of support for Assange is crucial if the United Kingdom and the US are to stop persecuting Asssange, said Narváez. “It is a political case, and it is necessary to show the presence in the international arena of the leaders who are opposed to a journalist being imprisoned for having revealed the truth.”
The Ecuadorian warned that the British and US legal systems will act according to the political pressures they receive in their countries to condemn Assange. For this reason, it is necessary to oppose political influences in his favor, as the only way to fight for his freedom.
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“Those who hold the key to Assange’s freedom are the politicians,” Narváez said. “The British government can intervene and the US government can drop the charges of this shameful persecution at any time and that is why political pressure on a global level is important.”
The Ecuadorian affirmed that, while the main human rights organizations in the world have already expressed themselves in favor of Assange, there is still a need to deepen the support of political leaders for the cause, in order to pressure the US to desist from Assange’s political persecution.
“International political pressure must be increased because the case is political,” reiterated Narváez.
(Sputnik)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KW/SL
