Latest news with #WikiLeaks
Wales Online
5 days ago
- Politics
- Wales Online
Kneecap's legal team for court battle to include Julian Assange lawyer
Kneecap's legal team for court battle to include Julian Assange lawyer Rapper O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, will be represented by a team that includes Gareth Peirce, solicitor for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during his fight against US extradition, and Rosalind Comyn, who has represented Extinction Rebellion protesters in court. (Image: Lorne Thomson, Redfernsvia Getty Images ) Irish rap trio Kneecap have named the legal team which will defend band member Liam O hAnnaidh against a terror charge. Rapper O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, will be represented by a team that includes Gareth Peirce, solicitor for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during his fight against US extradition, and Rosalind Comyn, who has represented Extinction Rebellion protesters in court. The 27-year-old was charged by postal requisition over the alleged display of a Hezbollah flag at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November last year. His legal team also includes Darragh Mackin from Phoenix Law, Brenda Campbell KC, Jude Bunting KC and Blinne Ni Ghralaigh KC. Mr Mackin was the solicitor for Sarah Ewart, whose successful legal challenge helped to usher in the decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland, while Ms Campbell was the defence barrister in the collapsed case against Seamus Daly, who was accused of murdering people in the IRA bomb attack of 1998 in Omagh. Mr Bunting acted for non-profit company Liberty in the Stansted 15's successful conviction appeal after they broke into Stansted Airport to stop a plane deporting people to Africa, which was a case Ms Ni Ghralaigh also worked on. Article continues below In an Instagram post the group said: "The British establishment is conducting a campaign against Kneecap which is to be fought in Westminster Magistrates Court... We are ready for this fight. We are proud to have such a strong legal team with us." Mr Mackin told the PA news agency: "It is difficult to comprehend a case of greater international importance in recent years. "Kneecap has played an unrivalled role in standing up for those without a voice in Gaza. They speak truth to power when others shy away. "It is a great privilege to be instructed alongside my colleagues to defend the important principle of freedom of expression, in the pending battle before the London Court." In May, the Metropolitan Police said Kneecap were being investigated by counter-terrorism police after videos emerged allegedly showing the band calling for the deaths of MPs and shouting "up Hamas, up Hezbollah". They apologised to the families of murdered MPs but said footage of the incident had been "exploited and weaponised". They also said they have "never supported" Hamas or Hezbollah, which are banned in the UK. In 2024, the band released an eponymous film starring Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender which is a fictionalised retelling of how the band came together and follows the Belfast group on their mission to save their mother tongue through music. Formed in 2017, the group, made up of O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, are known for their provocative lyrics and merchandise as well as their championing of the Irish language. Article continues below Their best-known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and 3Cag. O hAnnaidh is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 18. His lawyers have been approached for comment.
Gizmodo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Gizmodo
John L. Young, the Guy Who Created Wikileaks Before Wikileaks, Dies at 89
John L. Young, often hailed as an under-recognized hero of the digital age and co-founder of the groundbreaking transparency platform Cryptome, passed away on March 28th in New York City. His death, in relative anonymity, stands in stark contrast to the thunderous revelations that defined his pioneering work. His passing was quietly acknowledged by Archinect, a professional publication for architects, on June 4th: 'John L. Young, architect and the co-founder (with his wife Deborah Natsios) of Cryptome, passed away in March,' the publication wrote, but offered no further details. According to The New York Times, he died in a rehabilitation facility in Manhattan. Decades before the world became familiar with the concept of organized digital leaks, Young was among the first to grasp the profound potential of the nascent internet. He foresaw its power to publish confidential government documents online, thereby empowering citizens with information and holding the powerful accountable for their actions. Since June 1996—a full decade before WikiLeaks emerged—Cryptome has been a relentless publisher of tens of thousands of documents 'banned by governments around the world, particularly those related to freedom of expression, privacy, and cryptology,' as the site's creators meticulously note. Young founded Cryptome, which he affectionately called a 'free public library,' as a true precursor to WikiLeaks, fearlessly publishing raw government documents, both classified and unclassified. From photographs of Barack Obama's close protection team and full transcripts of security arrangements implemented by the U.S. Department of Defense, to detailed plans of sensitive facilities—these were Cryptome's revelations, not WikiLeaks'. In a pivotal moment in 2011, Cryptome made international headlines by publishing the unredacted version of the 251,000 U.S. diplomatic cables that WikiLeaks had obtained in 2010. Until then, WikiLeaks and its media partners had only released a few thousand of these documents, meticulously redacting sensitive information like the names and contact details of individuals deemed vulnerable. Critics and the U.S. government vehemently argued at the time that Cryptome's unredacted publication could endanger sources mentioned in the documents, particularly informants working for American embassies in authoritarian regimes or war zones. Despite WikiLeaks being a direct competitor in the realm of transparency, Young fiercely defended Julian Assange during his protracted standoff with the U.S. government, especially in 2020. The U.S. authorities sought Assange's extradition, accusing him of offenses tantamount to treason. Young viewed this as persecution and boldly challenged the U.S. government to pursue him as well. 'I published on unredacted diplomatic cables on September 1, 2011, under the URL and that publication remains available at the present,' he declared in a defiant statement to the Department of Justice in 2020, a copy of which is accessible on 'Since my publication on of the unredacted diplomatic cables, no US law enforcement authority has notified me that this publication of the cables is illegal, consists of or contributes to a crime in any way, nor have they asked for them to be removed.' With its understated design, Cryptome's website links to both hosted documents and external articles. Young, a Manhattan architect who also served as the site's administrator, humbly described himself as an 'amateur' whistleblower, distinct from those 'with a greater purpose.' It is perhaps this unassuming nature that set him apart; when Julian Assange himself approached Young to take an active role in WikiLeaks, Young respectfully declined. It is safe to assume that Young was not favored by U.S. intelligence agencies, who frequently criticized him for publishing highly sensitive documents, including lists of agents' names. His pioneering website also faced constant scrutiny, enduring 'several times a day' attacks from computer robots designed to analyze the content of its pages, a testament to the persistent threat perceived by those whose secrets he brought to light. Young, a left-wing activist who graduated from Columbia University, is survived by his wife (Natsios) and three children from his first marriage.
Daily Tribune
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Tribune
Chechen film, Assange documentary win prizes in Cannes
The first Chechen film to screen at the Cannes Festival won best documentary, while a film about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange picked up a special prize on Friday. Deni Oumar Pitsaev won the festival's Golden Eye award for his autobiographical documentary Imago, which follows the filmmaker after he inherits a small patch of land in the Pankisi valley in Georgia, across the border from Chechnya in southern Russia. During the two Chechen wars of 1994–1996 and 1999–2009, the region became a refuge for Chechen rebels and thousands of civilian refugees who crossed Georgia's porous mountain border to flee the conflict. Pitsaev — who grew up between Grozny, Saint Petersburg and Almaty, and is now based between Brussels and Paris — was also awarded a prize in the festival's Critics' Week section on Wednesday. US director Eugene Jarecki was awarded a special jury prize for his documentary The Six Billion Dollar Man, about Assange, who has been in Cannes to promote the film but has not yet spoken publicly. Assange has declined all interview requests, but the 53-year-old former hacker's wife, Stella Assange, said he had 'recovered' from his years in detention and would 'speak when he's ready.' Assange was released from a high-security British prison in June last year after a plea bargain with the US government over WikiLeaks's work publishing top-secret military and diplomatic information. He spent five years behind bars fighting extradition from Britain and another seven holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London, where he claimed political asylum.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cannes: Eugene Jarecki on Why ‘Six Billion Dollar Man' Subject Julian Assange is 'Probably Not Dr. Evil'
For over a decade, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been a lightning rod in the global debate over press freedom, transparency and the reach of U.S. power. From the release of the notorious 'Collateral Murder' video to his years-long exile inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, Assange has been hailed as a journalistic freedom fighter and vilified as a national security threat. Now, with The Six Billion Dollar Man, director Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight, The House I Live In) turns his lens on what he calls 'the most consequential political prisoner of our time,' delivering a searing exposé that uncovers the staggering cost the U.S. was willing to pay to silence him. Jarecki's latest documentary is a cinematic pressure cooker — part investigative thriller, part legal procedural and part character study — that digs deep into the forces aligned against Assange. Featuring interviews with human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa and never-before-seen footage from Assange's time inside the embassy, the film traces the evolution of a man from renegade online publisher to political martyr. At the core is a revelation worthy of any geopolitical thriller: A $6.5 billion IMF loan allegedly dangled by the Trump administration to pressure Ecuador into handing Assange over — a modern bounty to bury a dissident voice. More from The Hollywood Reporter Cannes: 'The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo' Wins Un Certain Regard Top Prize Who Really Took the Iconic "Napalm Girl" Photo? Director of New Doc Addresses the Controversy (Exclusive) Paris Court Finds Ringleader, Seven Others Guilty in 2016 Robbery of Kim Kardashian The Six Billion Dollar Man premiered as a special screening in Cannes Wednesday night, with Assange in the audience. It's already a multi-award winner, having received the first-ever Golden Globe Award for best documentary on Monday, and, on Friday, took the special jury prize of the L'Oeil d'or, or Golden Eye, awards, Cannes' documentary film honors. Jarecki, who has long chronicled abuses of American power, doesn't mince words. He describes the case as 'shattering,' a prism through which to examine how democracies betray their own ideals. In a discussion at the American Pavilion in Cannes, Eugene Jarecki spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about weaponized propaganda, the perils of truth-telling in the digital age and how a man once seen as 'Dr. Evil' by the U.S. government made it to the red carpet. What first drew you to the story of Julian Assange? It's a delight to bring Mr. Assange to the red carpet. It's probably the greatest achievement of my life, because it's so important that someone like Julian Assange, who was the target of so much deeply corrupt propaganda, is finally being seen in a different light. When we started, he was in Belmarsh Prison, Britain's Guantanamo Bay. The idea that this inmate would be here in Cannes, a free man, was unthinkable. We asked: Why is this man in jail? Recognized as a journalist by The New York Times, the Nobel prize committee, journalism outlets all over the world — and he's in a prison full of terrorists and violent criminals? We might have found he did something really bad. Maybe the propaganda is true. It was our job to get to the heart of it. Then the case became more startling, the evidence more shattering. Especially what it tells us about those in power — that they were willing to spend $6 billion as a bounty on a man's head. How do you think Julian Assange has been misrepresented in the mainstream narrative? The U.S. engaged in a vast smear operation against Assange. It involved allies like the U.K. and Sweden. He was given asylum by Ecuador under President Rafael Correa. Under his successor, the country was paid $6 billion to hurt Mr. Assange. Companies like PayPal and Visa stopped payments to WikiLeaks. I used to think they liked when we made transfers — don't they profit from that? All of a sudden capitalism went out the window. Allegations were spread that he had been guilty of a sexual offense in Sweden. We looked into that. There never was a sexual case. There was an inquiry, which was dropped. But nobody ever knows that. Once you say 'sexual this' or 'sexual that,' it follows someone for the rest of their life. The U.S. buried Assange in propaganda until someone who did that much for humanity either became unknown or had a black cloud over him. Saturday Night Live once did a bit with Bill Hader playing Assange as Dr. Evil. That sums up what the U.S. did to him. What's my job? I'm a documentary filmmaker. I didn't see Assange during the filmmaking process. He was in jail. I dealt with him as a public figure on my editing screen. I'm not going to present him as an angel, but he's probably not Dr. Evil. Your film presents a more positive image of Julian Assange than, for example, Laura Poitras did in her . In fairness to other filmmakers, the groundbreaking information just wasn't available to them. In our case, because he was in jail, he didn't have access to me, and I didn't have access to him, so my personal feelings didn't get in the way. I had 11 years of secretly-filmed surveillance footage from the embassy. I watched hundreds of hours and most of what I saw was that Assange is not what the public has been led to believe. His actions speak for themselves. He's had 15 years of detention. That speaks highly of a person, even if they're not great with their cat or lack social skills. If I had found evidence that he committed a sexual offense or violated people in war, I would have had to reflect that. But I didn't. What I saw was a single individual with a team of idealistic young people going up against a superpower. The film also shows how both Democratic and Republican administrations treated Assange as public enemy no. 1. You include the WikiLeaks release of Hillary Clinton's emails. How do you respond to the allegation that you're doing Trump's bidding by supporting Assange and criticizing the Democrats? This answer has three parts. First, yesterday [May 19] was the 100th birthday of Malcolm X. We're at a festival featuring a film about someone who was killed after making a political film [Gaza photojournalist Fatma Hassona, featured in Sepideh Farsi's Cannes documentary Put Your Soul on Your Hands and Walk]. These are people who are fearless in the face of danger. Assange is one of them. He doesn't stop when reasonable people would back down. When he was already in trouble, you'd think he'd want to curry favor with Democrats. Everyone believed Hillary would win. If he wanted to play it safe, he wouldn't have released what Hillary did to Bernie Sanders — which is all they released. Many people confuse that with Benghazi or the private server. That's propaganda. They didn't release that. WikiLeaks only published what Americans should want to know: that the Democratic nominee got there with blood on her hands. The DNC made it impossible for Bernie [Sanders] to compete. What kind of world would we be living in now if they hadn't buried him? Julian Assange did not do the politic thing. He didn't protect power. When Democrats lost, they said the Russians did it. America always has someone to blame — Russians, Muslims — to distract from what we do to overthrow democracy around the world. WikiLeaks was given that information. They didn't hack anything. The New York Times said what WikiLeaks did was newsworthy and correctly timed. And if they had Trump's tax returns, they would have released them. They're anti-power, not pro-Trump. We investigated every possible lead about Russian involvement. Every lead led back to Democrats' mouths. I found no evidence linking WikiLeaks to Russia, beyond Hillary calling it 'Russian WikiLeaks' on TV — a way of saying: I didn't lose because of me, I lost because someone took it from me. Dr. Evil and his friend in Russia. What did it take to get Julian Assange to Cannes, as a free man? The difficulty was for his legal team to beat the U.S. government. He's a free man because they won one of the most seismic victories in American law. The U.S. dropped 17 of 18 charges. He was facing 175 years. The last charge — the one he pled guilty to — was 'journalism.' He pled guilty to acting as a journalist under the First Amendment. But there's another law in America that goes against the First Amendment: the Espionage Act. And that's what they used. America pretended it was the seat of modern democracy. But now it's jailing a journalist. He got five years for that. And so he's here because they struggled to reach that outcome, and he emerged triumphant. I think Cannes is doing something extraordinary. The festival is more and more allowing politics into the curriculum, and I think that's beautiful. I'm proud to be a part of that. [Cannes Festival director] Thierry Frémaux and Christian Jeune [director of the film department] are really taking the festival in the right direction. And then we won a Golden Globe — the first for a documentary. That's empowering, not only for this film, but for all documentaries. It shows that Julian can be seen in a golden new light. What was the personal impact of this project on you as a filmmaker? It was a long process. That affected me — in my aging, in my politics, in how I work with people. I think some of the strategies I used, in managing a team, in handling messaging, in applying ethics — they're more advanced in my soul now than when I was younger. Julian taught me to stay in it for the long haul. He was in for 15 years. I spent four-and-a-half years on this. I salute his willingness to go to the wall for a cause. Seeing him here at the festival — he's a different person than I saw in the footage all those years. After everything, does the truth still matter? Fuck yes! Best of The Hollywood Reporter Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now "A Nutless Monkey Could Do Your Job": From Abusive to Angst-Ridden, 16 Memorable Studio Exec Portrayals in Film and TV
RTÉ News
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Chechen film, Assange documentary win prizes in Cannes
The first Chechen film to screen at the Cannes Festival has won Best Documentary while a film about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has picked up a special prize. Déni Oumar Pitsaev won the festival's Golden Eye award for his autobiographical documentary Imago, which follows the filmmaker after he inherits a small patch of land in the Pankisi valley in Georgia, across the border from Chechnya in southern Russia. During the two Chechen wars of 1994-1996 and 1999-2009, the region became a refuge for Chechen rebels and thousands of civilian refugees who crossed Georgia's porous mountain border to flee the conflict. Pitsaev - who grew up between Grozny, Saint Petersburg, and Almaty, and is now based between Brussels and Paris - was also awarded a prize in the festival's Critics' Week section on Wednesday. The American director Eugene Jarecki was awarded a Special Jury Prize for his documentary The Six Billion Dollar Man, about Assange, who has been in Cannes to promote the film but has not yet spoken publicly. Assange has declined all interview requests, but the 53-year-old former hacker's wife, Stella Assange, said he had "recovered" from his years in detention and would "speak when he's ready". Assange was released from a high-security British prison in June last year after a plea bargain with the US government over WikiLeaks's work publishing top-secret military and diplomatic information. He spent five years behind bars fighting extradition from Britain and another seven in Ecuador's embassy in London, where he claimed political asylum. Jarecki said his film aimed to correct the record about Assange, whose methods and personality make him a divisive figure. "I think Julian Assange put himself in harm's way for the principle of informing the public about what corporations and governments around the world are doing in secret," he said.
