This afternoon the Federal Prosecutor of Germany (Generalbundesanwalt beim Bundesgerichtshof) registered a complaint filed by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. This is the second of four jurisdictions where WikiLeaks is filing a criminal complaint during the month of September against unlawful interference in journalistic activities. The first complaint was filed this morning in Sweden ahead of Obama's state visit on 4 and 5 September as persons in the US delegation may have knowledge of the US multi-agency response to WikiLeaks.
The complaint concerns the monitoring of Julian Assange in Berlin in 2009 and the seizure of WikiLeaks property on 27 September 2010.
WikiLeaks decided to withhold matters contained in this complaint until the conclusion of the court martial of PFC Chelsea Manning.
The US military used the results of intelligence action against WikiLeaks in Germany in 2009 to facilitate its prosecution of PFC Manning for charges of aiding the enemy and wanton publication. Julian Assange said: "The results of unlawful US spying against WikiLeaks in Germany in 2009 has ultimately been used to help put political prisoner PFC Chelsea Manning in prison for 35 years."
"Chancellor Merkel must answer two simple questions: Did she authorise the use of US military bases to spy on journalists in Germany? And did she authorise the export of the results of this spying to the United States prosecution of alleged WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning?"
The property seized on the flight from Sweden to Berlin Tegel airport included evidence of a war crime perpetrated by US forces in Afghanistan in which more than sixty women and children were killed, known as the Garani massacre. The property seized also contained a report of the military intelligence monitoring in Berlin in 2009.
The actions that are the subject of this complaint occurred in the context of the publication of thousands of classified US intelligence documents in 2010. The unlawful FBI and US intelligence activities against WikiLeaks in Europe since 2009 have been forced onto the public record this year through a Parliamentary inquiry in Iceland and the Manning court martial.
The 186-page affidavit now made public details ongoing and illegal attempts by US authorities to interfere with WikiLeaks’ publishing and journalistic activities. Attacks such as those that WikiLeaks has endured have become a concerning trend, as exemplified by the recent abuse of the UK Terrorism Act to seize electronic devices and other materials belonging to those working on the Edward Snowden US mass surveillance revelations.
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks’ publisher, said: "Now is the time for everyone to take a stand to put an end to Obama’s war against national security journalism – at home and abroad. This filing, recent court victories, and our successful intervention in the case of Edward Snowden, represent the continuing reorientation of WikiLeaks from legal defence to legal attack."
{Links}
Julian Assange’s affidavit in PDF (minus appendix):
Julian Assange’s affidavit in PDF (minus appendix) in html:
Present status:
On 24 April 2013 WikiLeaks won its three-year battle against the unilateral, extra-judicial US financial services blockade of WikiLeaks donors, securing victory in the Supreme Court of Iceland.
On 18 June 2013 WikiLeaks lodged a compensation demand for US$75 million against Valitor (formally, VISA Iceland).
On 30 June 2013 MasterCard pulled out of the financial blockade against WikiLeaks.
As of 2 September 2013, Julian Assange has been detained for 1,000 days (440 days in the Ecuadorian embassy of London, where he has political asylum; 550 days under house arrest; and 10 days in solitary confinement). He has not been charged in the UK or Sweden at any stage. For further information, see http://justice4assange.com/extraditing-assange.html
On 4 and 5 September 2013 Barack Obama will visit Sweden en route to the G20, having cancelled a planned Russia-US summit scheduled for these dates. The White House stated that the cancellation was partly as a result of Snowden’s successful asylum bid.
On 5 September 2013 an unendorsed Hollywood movie about WikiLeaks by Dreamworks and distributed by Disney, "The Fifth Estate", will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek: Into the Darkness) as Julian Assange. The film’s general release is on 18 October.
On 7 September 2013 Julian Assange and five other WikiLeaks Party candidates are running for the Senate in the national Australian elections.
In early 2014 the United Kingdom will withdraw from the EU extradition agreement (EAW) that has kept Mr Assange detained without charge in the UK in relation to Sweden’s preliminary investigation.
WikiLeaks continues to publish thousands of documents every week.
The US Department of Justice probe against WikiLeaks and its staff continues.