Assange may be free, but journalism everywhere is in chains

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The overwhelmingly affirmative effect to the pictures of Julian Assange stepping backmost onto Australian ungraded and hugging his woman speaks to the precise quality communicative astatine the halfway of this 14-year saga.

It’s a bully quality communicative for him, for his family, and present it seems we’ve acknowledged, for the country. Australia was capable to basal up for its citizen, against 1 of the astir almighty countries successful the world, and bring him home.

Lawyer Jennifer Robinson watches connected arsenic Julian Assange is greeted by his woman Stella upon his instrumentality to Australia past week.

While Assange’s instrumentality is simply a triumph aft a agelong conflict for freedom, determination are galore publishers and journalists crossed the satellite who stay imprisoned. The Committee to Protect Journalists has warned that successful the past 2 years, a record-breaking fig of journalists person been jailed, a disturbing barometer of the vitriol of repressive regimes determined to stifle autarkic voices.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) highlights the Asia-Pacific portion arsenic 1 of the world’s astir unsafe regions to signifier journalism.

Five countries successful the portion are ranked among the world’s “bottom 10” connected the RSF World Press Freedom Index for 2024, a database of the astir unsafe countries for media personnel: China, North Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam and Afghanistan. And nary of the region’s countries diagnostic successful the index’s apical 10 (Australia itself languishes astatine fig 39 retired of 180 countries).

We volition beryllium astatine the National Press Club connected Monday talking astir the plight of our client, Jimmy Lai, agelong clip pro-democracy activist, media proprietor and, astatine 76, Hong Kong’s oldest governmental prisoner.

Lawyers for Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai volition talk astatine the National Press Club successful Canberra connected Monday.

One of Hong Kong’s astir palmy businessmen, Jimmy Lai remained successful Hong Kong arsenic others near to basal with the radical and basal up for ideology and escaped speech.

He founded Apple Daily, a fashionable Chinese-language paper which was unsocial for its robust pro-democracy and anti-corruption stance.

Through its pages helium spoke information to powerfulness and held Beijing’s leaders and the Hong Kong authorities to relationship – and present helium is paying the price. He has been imprisoned for 3½ years, successful solitary confinement successful a maximum information prison, and present helium faces a beingness condemnation nether China’s draconian National Security Law. The UK, the US, UN experts and parliaments astir the satellite person been calling for his release.

Jimmy Lai’s lawsuit is emblematic of the crackdown connected escaped speech, ideology and the regularisation of instrumentality successful Hong Kong.

This crackdown is besides affecting Australians. Just past month, 14 ideology activists, including an Australian citizen, were convicted nether arguable nationalist information laws.

Hong Kong has adjacent issued “bounties” for the apprehension of high-profile activists surviving successful Australia successful exile, including for erstwhile legislator Ted Hui and lawyer Kevin Yam, who is besides an Australian citizen. Even those connected Australian ungraded are not immune to this menace to media and governmental freedoms.

Jimmy Lai’s lawsuit is besides emblematic of the expanding criminalisation of journalism crossed the region. Australian writer Cheng Lei spent astir 3 years successful China’s situation strategy earlier returning location successful October 2023. Journalist Maria Ressa, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has faced aggregate transgression charges successful the Philippines and faces up to six years successful situation for “cyberlibel”.

In Vietnam, blogger and writer Pham Doan Trang is serving a nine-year condemnation for her work. And successful Afghanistan, since the Taliban came to powerfulness successful August 2021 the media scenery has been decimated. In the abstraction of 3 months, 43 per cent of Afghan media outlets disappeared, and determination has been a immense exodus of journalists.

Journalist Cheng Lei spent clip successful jailhouse successful China.

Australia is an important dependable successful the region, and has for decades been a beardown advocator for advancement of quality rights successful the Indo-Pacific region. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade emphasises that Australia’s committedness to quality rights “reflects our nationalist values and is an underlying rule of Australia’s engagement with the planetary community”.

Freedom of code is simply a halfway Australian value, 1 that Australia indispensable support passim the region. We inquire the Australian authorities to marque a basal successful Jimmy Lai’s emblematic case, and nonstop a wide connection to the Hong Kong authorities, and crossed the region.

The information Julian Assange was freed and returned location against each the likelihood is simply a communicative of anticipation for imprisoned journalists and publishers everywhere. Government action, ineligible and diplomatic advocacy and a groundswell of nationalist enactment and enactment tin marque a difference. To each those who fought to bring him home, we promote you to run to escaped others.

Australia did the close happening to basal up for Julian Assange. It tin bash the close happening again by lasting up for escaped code successful Hong Kong, and joining the UK and US successful calling for Jimmy Lai’s release.

Jennifer Robinson is an Australian barrister moving successful London and a subordinate of Jimmy Lai’s planetary ineligible team. She has acted for and advised Julian Assange since 2010.

Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC is an planetary quality rights lawyer and pb counsel for Jimmy Lai. She acts for journalists, including Maria Ressa. Robinson and Gallagher volition look with Jimmy Lai’s son, Sebastien, astatine the National Press Club connected Monday and the Melbourne Press Club connected Thursday.

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