CPJ and partners call on US to drop charges against Julian Assange

Today, CPJ and 20 other human rights organizations sent a letter to the Biden administration to call for the U.S. Department of Justice to drop its criminal and extradition proceedings against Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, under the Espionage Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

CPJ has been urging the U.S. not to prosecute Assange since 2010, and CPJ’s director of special projects, Robert Mahoney, wrote in 2019 that, “for the sake of press freedom, Julian Assange must be defended.”

The Biden administration pledged to support journalism in its December 2021 Summit for Democracy. Now, this joint letter one year later proposes a critical step: “removing the threat of prosecution under the Espionage Act now hanging over the heads of investigative journalists everywhere.”

Separately, on December 14, CPJ will release its annual census of journalists imprisoned worldwide. The census records journalists known to be in custody as of December 1, 2022, and analyzes trends driving the sharp increase in the number of journalists behind bars in recent years. Last year’s census marked the sixth consecutive year that saw at least 250 journalists imprisoned for their work worldwide.

Editors can request a copy of the census by contacting press@cpj.org. CPJ experts are also available for interviews in multiple languages.

CPJ (Committee to Protect Journalists)