Organised by The Press Gazette, the British Journalism Awards took place at Hilton Bankside on 10th of December 2019, UN Human Rights Day. The Committee to defend Julian Assange put a good presence there with grassroots solidarity for the WikiLeaks publisher. Here is Maxine Walker reporting from our event with photos and video from Joe Brack, EF Press. An amazing turnout, thankful to all who participated!

UK Journalists – Time to Find Some Courage

The high-profile British Journalism Awards 2019 ceremony was held on 10 December at the very smart Hilton Hotel, Bankside.

We thought the event would be improved by a visual reminder that Julian Assange, multi-award winning journalist and publisher, could not be there as he is currently held in Belmarsh High Security Prison. He is held in conditions of oppressive isolation there, his health in dire peril and facing a potential sentence in the USA of 175 years. His crime in the eyes of our rulers is simply that he told the truth about their war crimes.

25 supporters turned up outside the Hilton with banners, placards and some wearing Julian Assange masks. We leafleted the journalists as they went in both to inform them and to ask them to sign the Journalists Open Letter which can be found online at: https://speak-up-for-assange.org/journalists-speak-up-for-julian-assange/

We met a mixed response. Some flatly refused to take the leaflet but others did so and seemed sympathetic. A few said they had signed the Open Letter or would consider doing so. We hope so. Of the 610 journalists who have signed the Open Letter so far, only 40 are from the UK while 63 French journalists have done so.

The truth about the lawless treatment of Julian Assange is easy to find. It seems that in the UK, journalistic courage is more difficult to locate.