Non Assurances for Assange - Turmoil in the Middle East - with Craig Murray & Cathy Vogan
Channel: Consortium News
Date: 18/04/2024

The United States Embassy on Tuesday filed two assurances with the British Foreign Office saying it would not seek the death penalty against imprisoned WikiLeaks' publisher Julian Assange and would allow Assange "the ability to raise and seek to reply upon at trial ... the rights and protections given under the First Amendment," according to the U.S. diplomatic note.  

The note contains a hollow statement, namely, that Assange can try to raise the First Amendment at trial (and at sentencing), but the U.S. Department of Justice can't guarantee he would get those rights, which is precisely what it must do under British extradition law based on the European Convention on Human Rights. 

Meanwhile, the Middle East stands on the brink of a major war as Israel appears ready to escalate its conflict with Iran, despite apparent efforts by Western governments to stop them.

David Cameron, the British foreign secretary,  was in Israel on Wednesday trying to persuade the Israelis not to escalate following Iran’s response to Israel's attack on Iran's embassy in Damascus. Cameron says Israel has decided to react. 

We asked Craig Murray, a former British diplomat, whether Joe Biden will this time really show some spine and make it plain to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he’s on his own if he hits Iran, causing Tehran to hit Israel back harder than the first time.   

Legal analyst Alexander Mercouris also sent his analysis of the U.S. assurances in the Assange case.

Producer and interviewer: Cathy Vogan