The Oxford Campaign to Defend Julian Assange organised a public meeting, at Wesley memorial Hall, on November 7th 2019. Speakers included Jake Lynch, Professor of Peace Studies and Maxine Walker from the Committee to Defend Julian Assange, a grassroots solidarity group for the WikiLeaks founder. Enjoy the brilliant speakers at the video below.

Photo Attribution: Moritz Mueller

PRESS RELEASE

Our Oxford campaign held its inaugural meeting on Thursday November 7th at the Wesley Memorial Church in New Inn Hall Street. Maxine Walker, of the Committee to Defend Julian Assange, spoke of the WikiLeaks founder, ‘exposer of war crimes, silenced, slowly assassinated and extradited to his death in a US prison on phony espionage charges,’ and showed that the fight to save him is part of a much bigger fight for our most fundamental democratic rights. Oseney resident Jake Lynch, Visiting Leverhulme Professor of Peace Studies at Coventry University, discussed some of his most brilliant achievements as a publisher and journalist, arguing that ‘WikiLeaks has given us the intellectual toolkit to understand the dominant ideas in our society, and the inequality and injustice they produce, and to think our way round them to something better.’

The meeting ended with our resolution quoting from last week’s statement by UN Rapporteur on Torture Professor Nils Melzer, who spoke of the ‘UK government’s outright contempt for Mr Assange’s rights and dignity,’ and its ‘refusal to undertake any measures of investigation or redress required by international law.’ The 40 people present, from religious, trade union and anti-war groups, voted unanimously to build the campaign in Oxford to stop his extradition to the United States, and to demand his release from Belmarsh maximum-security prison, where his brutal treatment and conditions are putting his life at serious risk.

Photo credit Moritz Mueller

Catherine Porter, 12 Gateley, Gidley Way, Horspath, OX33 1TH. 01865 874183

Photo Attribution: Moritz Mueller