Craig Murray on the Julian Assange Show Trial - Our Man in the Public Gallery
Craig Murray (“Your Man in the Public Gallery”) attended & reported on the great UK Show Trial of Julian Assange. This compendium provides a preview of (& links to) his reports & related information.
 |
The Julian Assange Show Trial (aka the UK hearing of the US request for his extradition) began in earnest in the lower court 24 Feb 2020 & recommenced 7 Sept 2020, with a ruling on 4 Jan 2021. It then transferred, on appeal by theUS, to the High Court, with a hearing 27-28 Oct 2021, and a ruling 10 Dec 2021. It now awaits an appeal to the Supreme Court from Assange’s lawyers.
Court sittings were not publicly broadcast, and attendance in the courtroom was limited to only a few seats. From the second phase of the lower court hearing “authorised persons” could connect to audio or video streams (“due to Covid-19”), but they were not permitted to save, copy or distribute the live streams. Some generous journalists on the “approved” list live-tweeted the events as they occurred. One such tweet stream for each day is noted below. Most of the witness statements were not made available to the public until some days (sometimes weeks) after their appearance in court, although links to those made public are also noted below for reader convenience.
Craig Murray (“Your Man in the Public Gallery”) attended court & reported on what he saw & heard. Except where he mentions a document specifically, Craig Murray probably did not have access to a copy of the day’s witness affidavits, or the tweet streams, as wrote his daily reports. He seems to have relied mostly on his copious handwritten notes and his prodigious memory. (He describes his process here.)
He attended all of the sittings in the Magistrates Court (lower court) hearings, apart from the bail hearing (when a coronavirus ‘lockdown’ prevented him from leaving his home), but missed the High Court Appeal sessions as he was himself consigned to a Scottish prison, having been jailed for his excellent journalism (on the Salmond case). Fortunately, he was released from prison only days before the judgment of the High Court was delivered. He attended the Royal Courts of Justice for that event.
Just prior to the commencement of the extradition hearings, Craig Murray addressed a large crowd gathered in London (on 22 Feb 2020) to protest the attempted extradition. He spoke about his own whistleblowing (re UK involvement in torture) some years earlier, and about the role of whistleblowers generally - and WikiLeaks’ role in supporting them. He also spoke about his own observations of the veracity of governments ‘from the inside’ - he was, prior to his whistleblowing, a career civil servant and one of the youngest UK ambassadors ever appointed. [YouTube at 2:26:42]
Craig Murray’s reporting on the Julian Assange Show Trial is considered by many to be a journalistic tour de force, one of the greatest pieces of court reportage of our time.
One day, when this case is over, the series will no doubt be published as a book.
In the meantime, below is - first an index, followed by a preview of (and links to) each of his reports, together with links to associated information.
INDEX:
LEVEL 1 - Magistrates Court
PRELIMINARY Hearings and other events
— COMMENT - 13 Aug 2019 “Assange Must Not Also Die In Jail” (alluding to the ‘suicide’ of Jeffrey Epstein)
— HEARING - re 21 Oct 2019 “Assange in Court“ [Information Note] [WikiLeaks Press Release]
— PROTEST - re 22 Feb 2020 “Roger Waters on Julian Assange”
PHASE 1 - 24-27 Feb 2020
— DAY 01 - 24 Feb 2020
— DAY 02 - 25 Feb 2020
— DAY 03 - 26 Feb 2020
— DAY 04 - 27 Feb 2020
— Phase 1 ADDENDUM 1: 2 Mar 2020 - “The Glass Box”
— Phase 1 ADDENDUM 2: 25 Mar 2020 - “The Bail Hearing”
— Phase 1 ADDENDUM 3: 15 Apr 2020 - “CIA Spying on Assange’s Privileged Legal Conversations”
— Phase 1 ADDENDUM 4: 14 July 2020 - “Damage to the Soul“
PHASE 2 - 7 Sept - 1 Oct 2020
— DAY 05 - AN ASIDE re Media Freedom - published 7 Sept 2020
— DAY 06 - re 07 Sept 2020 with WITNESS #1 Mark Feldstein
— DAY 07 - re 08 Sept 2020 with WITNESS #1 Mark Feldstein (cont); WITNESS #2: Clive Stafford Smith
— DAY 08 - re 09 Sept 2020 with WITNESS #3: Paul Rogers; WITNESS #4: Trevor Timm
— DAY 09 - re 14 Sept 2020 with WITNESS #5: Eric Lewis
— DAY 10 - re 15 Sept 2020 with WITNESS #5: Eric Lewis (cont); WITNESS #6: Thomas Durkin
— DAY 11 - re 16 Sept 2020 with WITNESS #7: John Goetz; WITNESS #8: Daniel Ellsberg
— DAY 12 - re 17 Sept 2020 with WITNESS #9: John Sloboda; WITNESS #10: Carey Shenkman
— DAY 13 - re 18 Sept 2020 with WITNESS #10: Carey Shenkman (cont); WITNESS #11: Nicky Hagar
— ** Read unto the record: WITNESS #12 Jen Robinson; WITNESS #13 Khaled El-Masri; WITNESS #14 Dean Yates
— DAY 14 - re 21 Sept 2020 with WITNESS #15: Christian Grothoff; WITNESS #16: Cassandra Fairbanks (read into record)
— DAY 15 - re 22 Sep 2020 Medical Testimony with WITNESS #17: Michael Kopelman
— DAY 16 - re 23 Sept 2020 Medical Testimony with WITNESS #18: Quinton Deeley
— ** Read unto the record: WITNESS #19 Catherine Humphrey; Prosecution WITNESS #P1 Seena Fazel
— DAY 17 - re 24 Sept 2020 Medical Testimony with WITNESS #P-2* Nigel Blackwood; WITNESS #20 Sondra Crosby
— ** Read unto the record: WITNESS #21 Christopher Butler; WITNESS #22 John Young
— DAY 18 - re 25 Sept 2021 with WITNESS #23 Jakob Augstein (read into record); WITNESS #24 Patrick Eller (video link)
— DAY 19 - re 28 Sep 2020 with WITNESS #25 Yancey Ellis; WITNESS #26 Joel Sickler
— DAY 20 - re 29 Sept 2020 with WITNESS #27 Maureen Baird; WITNESS #28 Lyndsay Lewis
— DAY 21- re 30 Sept 2020 Read into the record:
—** WITNESS #29 Patrick Cockburn; WITNESS #30 Iain Cobain; WITNESS #31 Stefania Maurizi;
—** WITNESS #32 Guy Goodwin-Gill; WITNESS #33 Robert Boyle; WITNESS #34 Bridget Prince;
—** WITNESS #35 Witness 1 (Spain); WITNESS #36 Witness 2 (Spain); WITNESS #37 Aitor Martinez
—** WITNESS #38 Noam Chomsky; WITNESS #39 Andy Worthington; WITNESS #40 Jameel Jaffer
— DAY 22 - re 1 Oct 2020 WITNESS #41 Read into the record: Michael Tigar; WITNESS #42 Gareth Peirce (x6)
— ADDENDUM - 9 Oct 2021 “Where Is My Final Assange Report?”
DECISION DAY - 4 Jan 2021
— Blog entry 1: “Julian Assange: Imminent Freedom”
— Blog entry 2: “The Assange Verdict: What Happens Now”
Interregnum
— COMMENT - 21 June 2021”Assange is Still in Jail”
— COMMENT - 29 June 2021 “FBI Fabrication Against Assange Falls Apart”
— EVENTS - Craig Murray - Political prisoner - 1 Aug - 30 Nov 2021
LEVEL 2 - High Court
— 11 Aug 2021 - High Court Appeal re grounds of appeal
— 27-28 Oct 2021 - High Court Appeal by the US
— 10 Dec 2021 - High Court Appear ruling
— 23 Dec 2021 - Request to HC for permission to appeal to SC lodged
— 24 Jan 2022 - “Day Oh God It Never Ends” (HC responds to permission to appeal to SC)
LEVEL 3 - Supreme Court
— 15 Mar 2022 - “On To The Next Hurdle” (SC refuses permission to appeal)
JOYFUL INTERVAL - The Assange Wedding
— WORD PICTURE - 25 Mar 2022 - “Free, Enduring Love“
OTHER COMMENTARY
— COMMENT - 1 Oct 2020 - On Bearing Witness
This compendium is updated as Craig Murray creates new entries about the ongoing Julian Assange Show Trial.
This series
This is the fourth in a series of lengthy pieces that explore the Assange / Wikileaks history via different themes.
In this compendium readers can choose to go direct to the Craig Murray blog entry of interest via the index link (above), or to meander through the previews (and further links) below.
PREVIEWS
LEVEL 1 - Magistrates Court
Level 1 takes place place in the Magistrates Court - the lowest level of the formal UK court system - in two phases:
Phase 1: Four days from 24-27 Feb 2020.
Phase 2: Eighteen days in which the court sat from 7 Sept to 1 Oct 2020
Ruling: Delivered 4 Jan 2021.
PHASE 1 - 24-27 Feb 2020
Level 1 Phase 1 takes place place in the Woolwich Crown Court. Phase 1 is four days from 24-27 Feb 2020.
What will #Assange the Press and the Public face in February 2020 at Belmarsh Magistrates Court?” [WiseUp]
PRE-TRIAL Hearing - 21 Oct 2019
Craig Murray [Blog entry] [Information Note] [WikiLeaks Press Release]
“I was deeply shaken while witnessing yesterday’s events in Westminster Magistrates Court. Every decision was railroaded through over the scarcely heard arguments and objections of Assange’s legal team, by a magistrate who barely pretended to be listening.
Before I get on to the blatant lack of fair process, the first thing I must note was Julian’s condition. I was badly shocked by just how much weight my friend has lost, by the speed his hair has receded and by the appearance of premature and vastly accelerated ageing. He has a pronounced limp I have never seen before. Since his arrest he has lost over 15 kg in weight.
But his physical appearance was not as shocking as his mental deterioration. When asked to give his name and date of birth, he struggled visibly over several seconds to recall both. I will come to the important content of his statement at the end of proceedings in due course, but his difficulty in making it was very evident; it was a real struggle for him to articulate the words and focus his train of thought.
Until yesterday I had always been quietly sceptical of those who claimed that Julian’s treatment amounted to torture – even of Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture – and sceptical of those who suggested he may be subject to debilitating drug treatments. But having attended the trials in Uzbekistan of several victims of extreme torture, and having worked with survivors from Sierra Leone and elsewhere, I can tell you that yesterday changed my mind entirely and Julian exhibited exactly the symptoms of a torture victim brought blinking into the light, particularly in terms of disorientation, confusion, and the real struggle to assert free will through the fog of learned helplessness.
I had been even more sceptical of those who claimed, as a senior member of his legal team did to me on Sunday night, that they were worried that Julian might not live to the end of the extradition process. I now find myself not only believing it, but haunted by the thought. Everybody in that court yesterday saw that one of the greatest journalists and most important dissidents of our times is being tortured to death by the state, before our eyes. To see my friend, the most articulate man, the fastest thinker, I have ever known, reduced to that shambling and incoherent wreck, was unbearable.
Yet the agents of the state, particularly the callous magistrate Vanessa Baraitser, were not just prepared but eager to be a part of this bloodsport. She actually told him that if he were incapable of following proceedings, then his lawyers could explain what had happened to him later. The question of why a man who, by the very charges against him, was acknowledged to be highly intelligent and competent, had been reduced by the state to somebody incapable of following court proceedings, gave her not a millisecond of concern. […]”
DAY 1 - 24 Feb 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Kevin Gosztola) [THREAD]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“James Lewis QC made the opening statement for the prosecution ....
The first and longest part was truly remarkable for containing no legal argument, and for being addressed not to the magistrate but to the media.” […]“Lewis had thus just flat out contradicted his entire opening statement to the media stating that they need not worry as the Assange charges could never be applied to them. And he did so straight after the adjournment, immediately after his team had handed out copies of the argument he had now just completely contradicted. I cannot think it has often happened in court that a senior lawyer has proven himself so absolutely and so immediately to be an unmitigated and ill-motivated liar.
This was undoubtedly the most breathtaking moment in today’s court hearing.
Yet remarkably I cannot find any mention anywhere in the mainstream media that this happened at all. What I can find, everywhere, is the mainstream media reporting, via cut and paste, Lewis’s first part of his statement on why the prosecution of Assange is not a threat to press freedom; but nobody seems to have reported that he totally abandoned his own argument five minutes later.
Were the journalists too stupid to understand the exchanges?”
DAY 2 - 25 Feb 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Kevin Gosztola) [THREAD]
Craig Murray [Blog entry] [FR] [Le Grand Soir with photo of Julian in the dock]
“At this point Baraitser could not conceal her contempt ...
“Are you suggesting, Mr Summers, that the authorities, the Government, should have to provide context for its charges?”
An unfazed Summers replied in the affirmative ...”
DAY 3 - 26 Feb 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Kevin Gosztola) [THREAD]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“Lewis: “The prosecution is neutral on this request, of course but, err, I really don’t think that’s right”.
He looked at [the judge] like a kindly uncle whose favourite niece has just started drinking tequila from the bottle at a family party.”
DAY 4 - 27 Feb 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Kevin Gosztola) [THREAD]
The UK - US Extradition Treaty (signed 2003, ratified 2007)
- [UK version] [US version]
The UK Extradition Act (2003) [legislation.gov.uk]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“Baraitser interrupted that the UK/US Extradition Treaty was not incorporated into English Law.
Fitzgerald replied that the entire extradition request is on the basis of the treaty. It is an abuse of process for the authorities to rely on the treaty for the application but then to claim that its provisions do not apply.
“On the face of it, it is a very bizarre argument that a treaty which gives rise to the extradition, on which the extradition is founded, can be disregarded in its provisions. It is on the face of it absurd.” Edward Fitzgerald QC for the Defence.” […]
“It is intensely embarrassing for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) when an English court repudiates the application of a treaty the UK has ratified with one or more foreign states. For that reason, in the modern world, very serious procedures and precautions have been put into place to make certain that this cannot happen.”
Phase 1 ADDENDUM 1: 2 Mar 2020 - The Glass Box
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
"A tiny bit of human comfort could do an enormous amount of good to his mental health & resilience. They are determined to stop this at all costs ... attempting to make him kill himself ... [or explain his death] as suicide."
This tweet includes an (illegally taken) photo of Julian Assange in the The Glass Box, with his security guards. Some of his lawyers normally sat in front of it, with their backs to him. Here they are standing as court is not in session.
Phase 1 ADDENDUM 2: 25 Mar 2020 - The Bail Hearing
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“If the authorities now refuse to allow him out on bail during the Covid-19 outbreak, I do not see how anybody can possibly argue there is any intention other than to cause his death.”
On the same date, Michelle Bachelet, UNHR Chief, urges governments to act now to prevent #COVID19 devastating the health of people in detention and other closed facilities, as part of global efforts to contain the pandemic. [Tweet]
Phase 1 ADDENDUM 3: 15 Apr 2020 - “CIA Spying on Assange’s Privileged Legal Conversations”
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“Here is an image of Julian and I talking in the Ecuadorean Embassy, part of the spycam footage that was commissioned by the CIA from Spanish security firm Global. Julian and I were discussing a number of overseas missions to liaise with foreign governments, which I was carrying out on his behalf.”
[…]
“As the ABC news item above shows, Julian’s privileged conversations with his lawyers on his legal defence were being spied on, by the government which is now seeking to extradite him. In any jurisdiction in the civilised world, that should be enough immediately to bring proceedings to a halt. The first witnesses to be called when the hearing resumes are the witnesses who will attest to this. The defence have requested an adjournment of the case beyond May 18, because at present they have no access to their client due to Covid 19 lockdown in the jail, and because it is not at all clear witnesses will be able to travel from abroad by 18 May. Judge Vanessa Baraitser has refused to reschedule.
It is also worth asking why has nothing like that ABC coverage been seen on the BBC or Sky, where this case is actually being heard and Julian is a prisoner?”
Phase 1 ADDENDUM 4: 14 July 2020 - Damage to the Soul
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“The imprisonment of Julian Assange has been a catalogue of gross injustice heaped upon gross injustice, while a complicit media and indoctrinated population looks the other way. In a truly extraordinary twist, Assange is now being extradited on the basis of an indictment served in the UK, which is substantially different to the actual indictment he now faces in Virginia if extradited.
The Assange hearing was adjourned after its first full week, and its resumption has since been delayed by coronavirus. In that first full week, both the prosecution and the defence outlined their legal arguments over the indictment. As I reported in detail to an audience of millions, Assange’s legal team fairly well demolished the key arguments of the prosecution during that hearing.”
[…]
“To have extradition decided on the merits of one indictment when the accused actually faces another is an outrage. To change the indictment long after the hearing is underway and defence evidence has been seen is an outrage. The lack of media outrage is an outrage.
None of which will come as any shock to those of us who have been paying attention. We have to continue to build public consciousness of the fact that the annihilation of a journalist for exposing war crimes, based on a catalogue of state lies and dodgy procedure, is not an act that the state can undertake without damage to the very soul of the nation.”
PHASE 2 - 7 Sept - 1 Oct 2020
NOTE: Craig Murray gave his reports a number - used again here. He usually published them the morning after the events described. Here though, apart from the first entry below, I have used the actual date of the events he refers to in each report.
Phase 2 took place in The Old Bailey.
DAY 5 - “Media Freedom?” published 7 Sept 2020
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“The idea of a “free press” as an open marketplace of democratic ideas has no real meaning in modern society, until anti-monopoly action is taken. Which is the last thing those in power will do ...”
Craig Murray also spoke to Mohamed Elmaazi outside the court on this day [Tweet with video]
DAY 6 - re 7 Sept 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
PROSECUTION BUNDLE for Defence Witnesses [Declarations & Affidavit]
Contains
- US Assistant Attorney Gordon Kromberg:
Initial Statement (dated 17 Jan 2020) pp 96 - 171
1st supplemental (dated 19 Feb 2020) pp 172 - 183
2nd supplemental (dated 12 Mar 2020) pp 184 - 194
3rd supplemental (dated 24 Mar 2020) pp 195 - 215
Affidavit (dated 14 July 2020) pp 216 - 249
4th supplemental (dated 3 Sep 2020) pp 298 - 332
NOTE: There were other bundles but they do not seem to have been made public.
DEFENCE:
WITNESS #1 Mark Feldstein: [Affidavit 1] [Affidavit 2]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“I previously blogged about how the procedural trickery of the superseding indictment being used to replace the failing second indictment ... was something that sickened the soul. Today in the courtroom you could smell the sulphur.”
Key Issues today:
Time allowed for each witness
Extra time refused re new (2nd) subsequent indictment
DAY 7 - re 8 Sept 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
WITNESS #1 Mark Feldstein (cont): [Affidavit 1] [Affidavit 2]
WITNESS #2: Clive Stafford Smith of “Reprieve” [Affidavit]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“Stafford Smith said he had been “profoundly shocked” by the crimes committed by the #US govt against his clients [including] torture, kidnapping, illegal detention & murder. [He] spoke of use of Spanish Inquisition techniques ...”
DAY 8 - 9 Sept 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Kevin Gosztola) [THREAD]
WITNESS #3: Paul Rogers [Affidavit]
WITNESS #4: Trevor Timm [Affidavit]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“Lewis primary tactic has been rudeness and aggression to disconcert witnesses. He questions their honesty, fairness, independence and qualifications. Today his bullying tactics ran foul of two classier performers than he.”
DAY 9 - 14 Sept 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
WITNESS #5: Eric Lewis (5 statements) [Affidavit #1] [#2] [#3] [#4] [#5]
REPORT The Center for Constitutional Rights: “The Darkest Corner:
Special Administrative Measures [SAMs] and Extreme Isolation in the
Federal Bureau of Prisons” (Sept 2017) [CCRJustice PDF]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“Things became not merely dramatic in the Assange courtroom today, but spiteful and nasty. There were two real issues, - the evidence and - the procedure ... we saw behaviour from the prosecution QC that went well beyond normal cross examination ...”
DAY 10 - 15 Sept 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
WITNESS #5: Eric Lewis (cont) (5 statements) [Affidavit #1] [#2] [#3] [#4] [#5]
WITNESS #6: Thomas Durkin (after lunch) [Affidavit #1] [#2]
REPORT The Center for Constitutional Rights: “The Darkest Corner:
Special Administrative Measures [SAMs] and Extreme Isolation in the
Federal Bureau of Prisons” (Sept 2017) [CCRJustice PDF]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“The US government is now saying, completely explicitly, in court, those reporters could and should have gone to jail and that is how we will act in future. The Washington Post, the New York Times, and all the “great liberal media” of the USA are not in court to hear it and do not report it, because of their active complicity in the “othering” of Julian Assange as something sub-human whose fate can be ignored. Are they really so stupid as not to understand that they are next?
Err, yes.”
DAY 11 - 16 Sept 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
WITNESS #7: John Goetz [Affidavit #1] [#2]
WITNESS #8: Daniel Ellsberg [Affidavit]
Related info re “The Guardian dinner statement” [Twitter MOMENT]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“Goetz was only permitted to contradict Lewis’s deliberate introduction of a lie if Lewis asked him. Lewis refused to ask [Goetz - who was there] what had happened, because Lewis knew the lie he is propagating would be exposed.”
DAY 12 - 17 Sept 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mohamed Elmaazi) [THREAD]
WITNESS #9: John Sloboda [Affidavit]
WITNESS #10: Carey Shenkman [Affidavit]
Related info re redactions “Mark Davis exposes "lies" about Julian Assange by the Guardian & NYT” [Twitter MOMENT]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“Dobbin then asked a 3 part question that rather sapped my will to live.
Shenkman [rephrasing]: “Did I anticipate this indictment? No, I never thought we would see something as political as this. It is quite extraordinary.”
DAY 13 - 18 Sept 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
WITNESS #10: Carey Shenkman (cont) [Affidavit]
WITNESS #11: Nicky Hagar [Affidavit]
WITNESS #12 Jen Robinson (read unto the record) [Affidavit]
WITNESS #13 Khaled El-Masri (read into the record) [Affidavit images] [Retyped]
WITNESS #14 Dean Yates (read into on record) [Affidavit]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“The fact is that the USA wants to avoid the political embarrassment and media publicity of el-Masri’s torture and the events of the Collateral Murder video being detailed in court.”
DAY 14 - 21 Sept 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
WITNESS #15: Christian Grothoff [Affidavit #1] [#2]
WITNESS #16: Cassandra Fairbanks (read into the record) [Affidavit]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“What the defence should have said at this moment is “Madam, the dogs in the street know that people were tortured in Guantanamo Bay. In the real world, it is not a disputed fact." ”
DAY 15 - 22 Sep 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
WITNESS #17: Michael Kopelman Affidavit Suppressed - Medical testimony
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“[This treatment of Julian] is a burglary of the mind.” […]
“Lewis’s characterisation of depressives as permanently incapable is not just crassly insensitive, it is a form of #HateSpeech and should not be acceptable in court.”
DAY 16 - 23 Sept 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
WITNESS #18: Quinton Deeley - Affidavit Suppressed - Medical testimony
WITNESS #19 Catherine Humphrey (read into the record) [Affidavit - Not available]
WITNESS #P1* Seena Fazel - Affidavit Suppressed - Medical testimony
*#P-1 and #P-2 were witnesses for the prosecution (all others for the defence)
Related info re the impact of standard Asperger’s traits on interpersonal communication with Julian Assange: Nils Melzer in “The Persecution of Julian Assange” (18 Dec 2021) [YouTube at 17:01]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“The govts who are destroying Julian have through their agencies pushed the huge corporations who now control the major internet traffic gateways, to ensure my ... grieving account is seen by very few ...”
“We are all locked in.”
DAY 17 - 24 Sept 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
WITNESS #P-2* Nigel Blackwood** Affidavit Suppressed - Medical testimony
WITNESS #20 Sondra Crosby Affidavit Suppressed - Medical testimony
WITNESS #21 Christopher Butler (read into record) [Affidavit]
WITNESS #22 John Young (read into record) [Affidavit]
*#P-1 and #P-2 were witnesses for the prosecution (all others for the defence).
US Board of Prisons psychiatrist Dr Alison Leukefeld gave testimony via the bundle (as did Kronberg) and so her statements, like his, could not be cross examined by the defence. Her “Declaration” is referred to by Maureen Baird (Witness #27, from point 36).
** See article (2 Oct 2020) re Nigel Blackwood testimony [Consortium News]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“I am going to write to Judge Baraitser applying for a copy of the transcript of Lewis cross-examining Professor Kopelman on the razor blade, with a view to reporting Lewis to the Bar Council. I do wonder whether the General Medical Council might not have reason to consider the practice of Dr Daly in this case.”
DAY 18 - 25 Sept 2021
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
WITNESS #23 Jakob Augstein (read into record) [Affidavit]
WITNESS #24 Patrick Eller (on video link) [Affidavit]
Associated material:
Harold Pinter (2005) "Art, Truth And Politics" - Nobel Lecture
[YouTube] [Transcript]
“It never happened …” from 24:15
“Pinter includes (from 15:22) first hand testimony about the way things really were in Nicaragua at the time of the US Iran-Contra activities, and even offers (then) US President George W Bush a script for a speech (beginning at 41:12) which ends: "I possess moral authority. You see this fist? This is my moral authority. And don't you forget it."
Pinter's speech ends with a reminder to us all of our personal responsibility for re-establishing 'truth' in our own lives and in public discourse:
"I believe that despite the enormous odds which exist, unflinching, unswerving, fierce intellectual determination, as citizens, to define the real truth of our lives and our societies is a crucial obligation which devolves upon us all. It is in fact mandatory. If such a determination is not embodied in our political vision we have no hope of restoring what is so nearly lost to us – the dignity of man. ”
[PS: Read the Postscript re copyright in the YouTube header and you will see why Bob Dylan would not hand over the copyright in his own speech to the Nobel Prize committee.]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“I am reminded of the words of another friend of mine, Harold Pinter, in accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature. It seems perfectly to fit the trial of Julian Assange:
"It never happened. Nothing ever happened ...”
DAY 19 - 28 Sep 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
WITNESS #25 Yancey Ellis [Affidavit #1] [#2]
WITNESS #26 Joel Sickler [Affidavit #1] [#2]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“... it was a day when the divorce between truth and court process was still plainer than usual. Given the horrific reality this process was disguising, it was a hard day to sit through.”
DAY 20 - 29 Sept 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
WITNESS #27 Maureen Baird [Affidavit]
WITNESS #28 Lyndsay Lewis [Affidavit]
US Board of Prisons psychiatrist Dr Alison Leukefeld gave testimony via one of the bundles (as did US Assistant Attorney Gordon Kromberg) and so her statements, like his, could not be cross examined by the defence. Her declaration is not included in the only bundle that appears to be available to the public.
Leukefeld’s “Declaration” is referred to by Maureen Baird (Witness #27, point 36 on).
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“Tuesday has been another day on which the testimony focused on the extreme inhumane conditions in which Julian Assange would be kept imprisoned in the USA if extradited.”
DAY 21- 30 Sept 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
WITNESS #29 Patrick Cockburn read into record [Affidavit]
WITNESS #30 Iain Cobain read into record [Affidavit]
WITNESS #31 Stefania Maurizi read into record [Affidavit]
WITNESS #32 Guy Goodwin-Gill read into record [Affidavit]
WITNESS #33 Robert Boyle read into record [Affidavit #1] [#2] [#3]
WITNESS #34 Bridget Prince read into record [Affidavit]
WITNESS #35 Witness 1 (Spain) read into record [Affidavit]
WITNESS #36 Witness 2 (Spain) read into record [Affidavit]
WITNESS #37 Aitor Martinez read into record [Affidavit #1] [#2] [#3]
WITNESS #38 Noam Chomsky read into record [Affidavit] Reading [YouTube]
WITNESS #39 Andy Worthington read into record [Affidavit]
WITNESS #40 Jameel Jaffer read into record [Affidavit]
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“Wednesday confirmed the acceptance that this “Hearing” is now devolved to an entirely paper exercise. It is in fact no longer a “hearing” at all. You cannot hear a judge reading. Perhaps in future it should be termed not a hearing but an “occasional rustling”, or a “keyboard tapping”. ”
[NOTE: Craig Murray’s blog entry for Day 21 included Noam Chomsky’s written testimony in full. Since then, a member of the public has published a video of a reading of that affidavit for those who do actually prefer to “hear” such testimony, even if not in the voice of the author. ]
DAY 22 - 1 Oct 2020
Twitter Thread for the day (Mary Kostakidis) [THREAD]
WITNESS #41 Michael Tigar read into record - Affidavit not available
WITNESS #42 Gareth Peirce (x6) read into record
- [#1] [#2] [#3] [#4] [#5] [#6]* [#7]
- Affidavit #6 was rejected by the judge.
Craig Murray [NO Blog entry]
On the previous day, Craig said:
“In the next few days I will try to bring you a synthesis and analysis of all that passed on Wednesday. Now I need to go to court and see the last few dribbles of this case, and exchange last glances of friendship with Julian for some months.”
As it happens, no further report eventuated from this phase of the hearing. Nor was one necessary. But he did write one further entry at this point;
9 Oct 2021 “Where Is My Final Assange Report?”
Craig Murray: [Blog entry]
“Numerous people have contacted me in various ways to ask where is my promised report on the final day of the Assange hearing, to complete the account?
It is difficult to explain this to you. When I was in London it was extremely intense. This was my daily routine. I would attend court at 10am, take 25 to 30 pages of handwritten notes, and leave around 5. In court I was always with Julian’s dad John, and usually for lunch too. After court I would thank supporters outside the courtroom, occasionally do some media and often meet with the Wikileaks crew to discuss developments and tactics. I would then get back to my hotel room, have a bite to eat and go to bed around 6.30pm to 7pm. I would awake between 11pm and midnight, shower and shave, read my notes and do any research needed. About 3am I would start to write. I would finish writing around 8.30am and proofread. Then I would get dressed. About 9.30am I would make any last changes and press publish. Then I would walk to the Old Bailey and start again.
Apart from being exhausting, I was totally immersed in a bubble, and buoyed by the support of others close to Julian, who were also inside that bubble.
But in that courtroom, you were in the presence of evil. With a civilised veneer, a pretence at process, and even displays of bonhommie, the entire destruction of a human being was in process. Julian was being destroyed as a person before my eyes. For the crime of publishing the truth. He had to sit there listening to days of calm discussion as to the incredible torture that would await him in a US supermax prison, deprived of all meaningful human contact for years on end, in solitary in a cell just fifty square feet.
Fifty square feet. Mark that out yourself now. Three paces by two. Of all the terrible things I heard, Warden Baird explaining that the single hour a day allowed out of the cell is alone in another, absolutely identical cell called the “recreation cell” was perhaps the most chilling. That and the foul government “expert” Dr Blackwood describing how Julian might be sufficiently medicated and physically deprived of the means of suicide to keep him alive for years of this.
I encountered evil in Uzbekistan when the mother brought me the photos of her son tortured to death by immersion in boiling liquid. The US government was also implicated in that, through the CIA cooperation with the Uzbek Security Services; it happened just outside the US military base at Karshi-Khanabad. Here was that same evil paraded in the centre of London, under the panoply of Crown justice.
Having left the bubble, my courage keeps failing me to return to the evil and write up the last day. I know that sounds either pathetic or precious. I know the mainstream journalists who revel in portraying me as mentally unstable will delight to mock. But this last few days I can’t even bring myself to look at my notes. I feel physically ill when I try. Of course I will complete the series, but I may need a little time.”
I imagine it would have astonished Craig to know that, inside of one year, he would himself be a political prisoner, sentenced for practising good journalism. Or perhaps not. It seems that evil [as noted above) is spreading everywhere. It must be fought with skill and courage.
Decision Day - 4 Jan 2021
Live tweeting from:
- Kevin Gosztola (in US) [THREAD]
- Mary Kostakidis (in AU) [THREAD]
- Mohamed Elmaazi (in UK) [THREAD]
- Consortium News (in AU) [THREAD]
- Assange Defense (in US) [THREAD]
“The Government of the United States of America v Julian Assange”
Before District Judge Vanessa Baraitser
Court Website [Judiciary.uk]
Craig Murray [Blog entry 1] “Julian Assange: Imminent Freedom”
“The judgement is in fact very concerning, in that it accepted all of the prosecution’s case on the right of the US Government to prosecute publishers worldwide of US official secrets under the Espionage Act. The judge also stated specifically that the UK Extradition Act of 2003 deliberately permits extradition for political offences. These points need to be addressed. But for now we are all delighted at the ultimate decision that extradition should be blocked.”
VIDEO referred to above: from Randy Credico, ‘Assange: Countdown to Freedom’ (4 Jan 2021) “Craig Murray on the Assange Verdict” [YouTube]
Craig Murray [Blog entry 2] “The Assange Verdict: What Happens Now”
“I am not sure that at this stage the High Court would accept a new guarantee from the USA that Assange would not be kept in isolation or in a Supermax prison; that would be contrary to the affidavit from Assistant Secretary of State Kromberg and thus would probably be ruled to amount to new evidence.
Not to mention that Baraitser heard other evidence that such assurances had been received in the case of Abu Hamza, but had been broken.”
21 June 2021 - 6 months later
Craig Murray [Blog entry] “Assange is Still in Jail”
“Julian Assange remains in a maximum security jail, despite never being sentenced for anything but a long ago served spell for bail-jumping, and despite the US Government’s request for extradition having been refused.
It is approaching six months since I was in court to hear the decision rejecting Julian’s extradition, and it was in the same week that Baraitser ordered Julian be kept in jail pending a US appeal. Since then the US has submitted its appeal, which is somewhat intemperate in its efforts to discredit a number of highly distinguished expert witnesses at the hearing. The defence has submitted its response, including notice of points, where Baraitser found for the US, that the defence intend to counter-appeal.
Then for over three months – nothing.
The High Court has not only not set a date for the US appeal, it has not even indicated if the US appeal meets the bar to be heard – there is some thought that the appeal lacks any arguable points of law and may be simply rejected. But the seemingly leisurely approach of the High Court to looking at the matter is entirely inappropriate given that, in the meantime, an innocent man is suffering the most extreme form of incarceration available in the UK.
Assange’s status is that his extradition has been rejected. He ought not to be in jail at all, let alone in such harsh conditions.
By contrast, I am sitting in my study despite being sentenced to eight months in jail. I am at liberty while the Supreme Court decides whether to hear my appeal. My lawyers believe, from their contact with the court administrators, that it is entirely possible that the Supreme Court will decide on whether to take my appeal, within the four week suspension of my jail sentence granted by Lady Dorrian. This is because otherwise I might be imprisoned.
Why can the Supreme Court potentially decide whether to hear my appeal so quickly due to the threat of imprisonment, when the High Court is taking six times or more as long to decide whether to hear the US appeal, when an innocent man is already imprisoned? It makes no sense.
It is not due to complexity: while of course Julian’s case is more important, any points of law at issue in the US appeal are notably less complex than in my own appeal. To me, the only possible explanation is the determination of the state to keep Julian imprisoned at all costs.
It is now plain that Biden intends to press forward with the charging of Julian, a publisher and journalist, under the Espionage Act. This despite the opposition, however belated, of every major news organisation and every major civil liberties oriented NGO. Biden’s recent European trip was choreographed to establish his full credentials as a Cold War warrior and to ensure a western orthodoxy of hostility towards China. Biden is proving, as predicted, a perfect representative of the security and military state.
Having seen off the $15 minimum wage and proposals for meaningful “New Deal” expenditure, Biden can get down to the serious neo-liberal work of improving the fortunes of the ultra-wealthy.” […]
29 June 2021 - The Stundin disclosures
Craig Murray “FBI Fabrication Against Assange Falls Apart”
[Blog entry] [Stundin report]
“[…] While Baraitser’s eventual decision barred extradition on the grounds of Assange’s health and US inhumane prison conditions, the second superseding indictment and Thordarson’s accusations were accepted as a valid basis for extradition.
Thordarson has now told Icelandic magazine Stundin that his allegations against Assange contained in the indictment are untrue, and that Assange had not solicited the hacking of bank or police details. This is hardly a shock, though Thordarson’s motives for coming clean now are obscure; he is plainly a deeply troubled and often malicious individual.
Thordarson was always the most unreliable of witnesses, and I find it impossible to believe that the FBI cooperation with him was ever any more than deliberate fabrication of evidence by the FBI.Edward Snowden has tweeted that Thordarson recanting will end the case against Julian Assange. Most certainly it should end it, but I fear it will not.
Many things should have ended the case against Assange. The First Amendment, the ban on political extradition in the US/UK Extradition Treaty, the CIA spying on the preparations of Assange’s defence counsel, all of these should have stopped the case dead in its tracks.
It is now five months since extradition was refused, no US government appeal against that decision has yet been accepted by the High Court, and yet Julian remains confined to the UK’s highest security prison. The revelation that Thordarson’s allegations are fabricated – which everyone knew already, Baraitser just pretended she didn’t – is just one more illegality that the Establishment will shimmy over in its continued persecution of Assange.
Assange democratised information and gave real power to the people for a while, worldwide. He revealed US war crimes. For that his life is destroyed. Neither law nor truth have anything to do with it.”
Craig Murray - Political prisoner - 1 Aug - 30 Nov 2021
Craig Murray was not available on these days to attend the High Court, as he was ensconced in a Scottish prison, having been sentenced to eight months (of which he served four) on the civil charge of “contempt of court” related to his brilliant journalism in the Alex Salmond case.
Entering the prison - 1 Aug 2021
Craig was escorted to the prison gates by a crowd of family and friends.
[Tweet with video] [YouTube]
“I go to jail as a political prisoner.”
Leaving the prison - 30 Nov 2021
Craig Murray was released from prison to a rousing welcome.
[Tweet with video clip] Full Statement [YouTube]
LEVEL 2 - High Court
High Court - 11 Aug 2021
“Julian Assange hearing: What's the link between the Wikileaks founder and Craig Murray?” [NationalScot]
“District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled in January that Assange should not be sent to the US, citing a real risk of suicide. The US Government was previously allowed to appeal against her decision on three grounds, including that it was wrong in law.
Today, the US made a bid to expand the basis that can be used for its main appeal against the district judge’s decision.
The American authorities said they should be allowed to argue two further points – that the district judge was wrong in how she assessed evidence about Assange’s risk of suicide and also appeal against the use of evidence from a psychiatrist who they said “misled” the court.
Lord Justice Holroyde ruled in favour of the US authorities after he found the two points were “at least arguable” at the main appeal, which will take place over two days in October.”
High Court Appeal by the US - 27-28 Oct 2021
Craig Murray was not available on these days to attend the High Court, as he was ensconced in a Scottish prison.
High Court Appeal ruling - 10 Dec 2021
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
“Lord Justice Holroyde entered and read out a brief summary of the judgement. Lord Chief Justice Burnett, the other member of the two man panel, apparently had better things to do. It was evident after a few seconds that the insufferably smug Holroyde was going to find in favour of the United States Government.
Julian was not present, neither in person nor by videolink. That judgement should be given on a prisoner in the presence neither of himself nor of his counsel seems to me a quite extraordinary proceeding. The entire event felt wrong.”
UPDATES (After original publication)
LEVEL 2 - High Court (continued)
Day Oh God It Never Ends (HC response re appeal to SC) - 24 Jan 2022
Craig Murray [Blog entry] [Court Response: Tweet with image, includes date error]
EXCERPT:
“The Lord Chief Justice suddenly materialises from his own entrance behind his bench, already high above us, so he doesn’t have to mount the mahogany and risk tripping over his scarlet velvet drapery. I like to imagine he was raised up to the requisite level behind the scenes by a contraption of ropes and pulleys operated by hairy matelots. Next to him, but discreetly a little lower, was Lord Justice Holroyde, who delivered the judgement now appealed against, and today looked even more smug and oleaginous in the reflected glow of his big mate.The appearance lasted two minutes. Burnett told us that the Court certified, as being a matter of general public interest, the question of whether “Diplomatic Assurances” not submitted in the substantive hearing, could be submitted at the appeal stage. It did not so certify the other points raised; it refused leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
You can ignore the last phrase; it is customary that the High Court refuses leave to appeal; with the certification of public interest, Julian can now appeal direct to the Supreme Court which will decide whether or not to take the case. The refusal of leave by the High Court is purely a show of deference to the Supreme Court, which decides itself what it will take. The lawyers put this as “the Supreme Court dines a la carte.”
Read the rest of that report here.
LEVEL 3 - Supreme Court
On To The Next Hurdle (SC refuses permission to appeal) - 15 Mar 2022
Craig Murray [Blog entry] [Solicitors BP PDF] [Tweet Image]
“By introducing the assurances only at the appeal stage – which is only on points of law and had no fact-finding remit – the USA had avoided any scrutiny of their validity. The Home Office have always argued that diplomatic assurances must simply be accepted without question. The Home Office is keen on this stance because it makes extradition to countries with appalling human rights records much easier.
In saying there is no arguable point of law, the Supreme Court is accepting that diplomatic assurances are not tested and are to be taken at face value – which has been a major point of controversy in recent jurisprudence. It is now settled that we will send someone back to Saudi Arabia if the Saudis give us a piece of paper promising not to chop their head off.
It interested me in particular that the Supreme Court refused to hear Julian’s appeal on the basis there was “no arguable point of law”. When the Supreme Court refused to hear my own appeal against imprisonment, they rather stated their alternative formulation, there was “no arguable point of law of general public interest”. Meaning there was an arguable point of law, but it was merely an individual injustice, that did not matter to anybody except Craig Murray.
My own view is that, with the Tory government very open about their desire to clip the wings of judges and reduce the reach of the Supreme Court in particular, the Court is simply avoiding hot potatoes at present.”
Read the rest of that report here.
JOYFUL INTERVAL - The Assange Wedding
Free, Enduring Love - 25 Mar 2022
Craig Murray [Blog entry]
EXCERPT
”The British authorities had done everything they could firstly to prevent, and then to mess up, this wedding. Permission to marry had first been formally requested of the prison service in 2020, and in the end was only granted by involving lawyers and threatening legal action. There followed a whole list of antagonisms on which I shall not dwell, one minor example of which was banning me from the wedding and then lying about it.But now, on the wedding day, the ordinary, working staff of the prison were delighted to be hosting such a happy event. The searches of the bride were distinctly token and friendly. At the security checks, Julian and Stella’s three year old son Max managed to tangle himself so comprehensively around the legs of one guard that he fell over, and the large guard and small boy then had a hilarious mock wrestle on the floor. The guards who conducted Stella through the jail did so as though they were the escort of a Queen.”
Read the rest of that report here.
(See also PART 5 of the Full Focus series “The Assange Wedding” for extensive quotes from Craig’s blog.)
On ‘Bearing Witness’
At the end of the penultimate day of the lower court hearing, DAY 21, Craig Murray said:
“A friend last night gave me the cold comfort that I should not worry about the hurried close of these proceedings reducing the public gaze on the evidence and the arguments (and I think there were altogether nine witness statements yesterday), because that public gaze had been extremely limited, as indeed I have been continually explaining. In other words, it makes no difference.
I follow that argument, but it goes against some fundamental beliefs and motivations I have about bearing witness, which I shall need to develop further in my own mind.”
On DAY 9 he made a related comment:
“The mainstream media are turning a blind eye. There were three reporters in the press gallery, one of them an intern and one representing the NUJ. Public access continues to be restricted and major NGOs, including Amnesty, PEN and Reporters Without Borders, continue to be excluded both physically and from watching online. It has taken me literally all night to write this up – it is now 8.54am – and I have to finish off and get back into court. The six of us allowed in the public gallery, incidentally, have to climb 132 steps to get there, several times a day. As you know, I have a very dodgy ticker; I am with Julian’s dad John who is 78; and another of us has a pacemaker.
I do not in the least discount the gallant efforts of others when I explain that I feel obliged to write this up, and in this detail, because otherwise the vital basic facts of the most important trial this century, and how it is being conducted, would pass almost completely unknown to the public.
If it were a genuine process, they would want people to see it, not completely minimise attendance both physically and online.”
One of the main reasons for compiling this overview of the writings of Craig Murray on the Show Trial of Julian Assange is to assist us all to ‘bear witness’ - via Craig’s reports - to this total abuse of process and perversion of justice.
Having read his record, from an eye witness perspective, of what actually happened we all need to help others to see what has been hidden from them by the courts and the mainstream media.
Thank you, Craig Murray, for making that possible.
The compiler of this compendium lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
As a long time supporter of Julian Assange, I have become aware that many of those new to the story of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange find it hard to get a picture of the enormity and multidimensionality of the abuse that has gone on here, and what that says about the current state of the world be live in.
This is the fourth in a series of lengthy pieces that explore this history via different themes.
The first was an essay “Julian Speaks: Two Voices from behind The Wall” looking at Julian Assange’s life inside the embassy, putting it in a particular historic context. Read it here.
The second was a chronological record of the (ongoing) attempts of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, to educate states and the wider world about the ongoing abuse of Julian Assange, and the wider significance of that abuse: “Nils Melzer on the torture of Julian Assange: A compendium”. Read it here.
The third was another compendium “The Persecution of WikiLeaks: Counting the Cost” covering a wide range of costs incurred by those associated, in almost any way, with WikiLeaks. In particular, it looks at the rollcall of the dead, and lists some of the many whistleblowers and truthtellers who have suffered under this regime of persecution. Craig Murray also figured in that list. Read it here.
In this compendium “Craig Murray on the Julian Assange Show Trial - Our Man in the Public Gallery”, readers can choose to go direct to the Craig Murray blog entry of interest via the index link, or to meander through the previews (and further links) which then follow.
These reports, while interesting to read for those new to this topic, are mainly intended as ongoing resources: documents to bookmark, dip into, refer back to, and share with those needing sources and perspective, rather than pieces to read at one sitting.
I also recommend Gary Lord’s FREE online book: "A True History of WikiLeaks".
And of course you must order a copy of Nils Melzer’s “The Trial of Julian Assange”.
Also a compilation by Karen Sharpe “Julian Assange in his own words”. [Book review]
Deepa Driver has also made an excellent Tweet series “#WhyAssangeMatters”
You can find me on Twitter at La Fleur Productions.
Thanks for accessing, using and sharing this compendium.
Contact the author if you wish to discuss its contents, or if you find an error or a link that no longer works.
All images are included either under “fair use” terms for the purpose of education, discussion and commentary, or belong to the author, or have appropriate creative commons licences.
Craig Murray has given explicit permission for the republishing of these blog entries at the foot of relevant entries. He has stated “I only ask that you reproduce it complete or, if edits are made, plainly indicate them.” I have done my best to follow these instructions to the letter.
Create your profile
Only paid subscribers can comment on this post
Check your email
For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.
Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.