Arms around Parliament in call to free Julian Assange
Thousands attended the arms around parliament event in London today, 8 October 2022, against the extradition of Julian Assange.
Amnesty has been instrumental in organising a demonstration against the extradition of Julian Assange and the call to free him from Belmarsh prison.
Protesters created a chain around parliament at roughly 1pm today.
Yellow ribbons were hung to the side of parliament and also removed by police as attaching anything to parliament is a criminal offence.
The ribbons, which some demonstrators carried and wore were inscribed with the names of people around the world who also lent their support to his release and could not attend the event in parliament today.
The organisers are adamant that charges against Assange in the USA are dropped and the threat of extradition be lifted.
They are also calling for his release, arguing that all charges against him are trumped up and part of a wider smear campaign where he represents a warning to other journalists who would also seek to release unpalatable truths.
Many on the demonstration believed that what had happened to Assange was a threat to the freedom of the press and had turned up on principle.
In fact the demonstration was originally couched as a demonstration in support of Assange and all imprisoned journalists.
However, on the day of event it was only Assange’s case that was being pushed, discussed and actively protested.
