Now Julian Assange Is a Martyr
Julian Assange, the Australian national who founded WikiLeaks, was indicted Thursday for soliciting classified information from an American whistle-blower in 2010 and publishing sensitive military files as well as State Department cables.
Unlike his source, then–Army Private Chelsea Manning, who pledged to protect state secrets to get a security clearance, Assange had no obligation to the U.S. government, and appears to be in legal jeopardy for some actions that are virtually indistinguishable from journalism.
That Assange is not himself a journalist is irrelevant.
The charges set a precedent “that can be used to target all news organizations that hold the government accountable by publishing its secrets,” the ACLU warns, adding, “If the US can prosecute a foreign publisher for violating our secrecy laws, there’s nothing preventing China,
