20230521 To Kathryn Ryan @ Nine To Noon: Thank you for this landmark interview with Kristinn Hrafnsson
Kia ora Kathryn.
Alan William Preston here at home up in Mangawhai for New Zealanders for Julian Assange ( 559 members on our facebook group ) .
Thank you for the excellent interview you did with Wikileaks Editor-In-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson this morning.
I am one of the founder members of this informal network of concerned citizens and have been writing to Radio New Zealand - and other media organisations in New Zealand, to provide updates on significant developments in the case of Julian Assange and have also provided suggestions and contact details for appropriate and interesting interview possibilities since our inception in January 2021.
Kristinn Hrafnsson would have been at the top of that list.
We have never received any acknowledgement of receipt for any of the emails we've sent to Radio New Zealand since January 2021 so we have no way of knowing whether you have been receiving them. Nor that you have received this.
I called Radio New Zealand yesterday to enquire about this but have not heard back from anyone.
Although Radio New Zealand has been publishing articles sent to it by foreign media agencies, it is greatly concerning to those of us who understand the grave implications it has for the future of our journalists willingness to scrutinise our decision-makers, especially with regard to matters of national security. that your interview today was the first interview in exactly 2 years that Radio New Zealand has done on this extremely important case.
New Zealanders For Julian Assange have been trying to raise support for a request to our Minister of Foreign Affairs And Trade that they lodge a diplomatic protest over the handling of the case, especially with regard to the United Kingdom's refusal to comply with the Agreement Against Arbitrary Detention in State to State Relations which they - and we - and 52 other nations , signed in February 2021.
The UK government reiterated their support for the Agreement to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in September 2021
stating : "
"Arbitrary detention is a hallmark of authoritarian regimes and its use is a tool of political intimidation.
Arbitrary detention not only violates human rights, but also undermines the trust in institutions that keeps societies safe and open.
We know that persons in marginalised and vulnerable situations, as well as human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society activists are more often arbitrarily detained.
We further recognise that persons who are arbitrarily detained are at greater risk of being subjected to other human rights violations."
"
That our media have not ( for whatever reason ) been reporting on nor carrying out their own investigations into this case has had the effect that the people of New Zealand are either largely oblivious to and unconcerned about the case and to the implications it has for the future of transparent and accountable democratic governance - or they equate the name Julian Assange with rapist & hacker and other ad hominem slurs that have been spread by uninvestigative journalism.
Yesterday's decision by the High Court judges to give leave to a full appeal provides some respite and hope that a favourable outcome is possible.
Meanwhile, Prisoner # A9379 AY Julian Assange ( an actual human being ) remains arbitrarily detained in solitary confinement in a 2x3 metre concrete cell in conditions deemed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture to be 'pyschological torture' in contravention to Section 134 of the UK Criminal Justice Act .
It is of great concern that our media and other checks and balances are not confronting the UK authorities about their refusal to abide by these laws.
New Zealanders For Julian Assange urges and encourages Radio New Zealand journalists and staff to increase their focus on the case of Julian Assange to bring about greater awareness of all its aspects to the people of New Zealand in defence of your own profession and of the vital role that a free and independent media has in ensuring the functionality of our transparent and accountable democracy.
Alan William Preston for New Zealanders For Julian Assange
newzealandersforjulianassange@gmail.com
Website : www.newzealandersforjulianassange.org.nz
Facebook Group : New Zealanders For Julian Assange
Contact: Alan William Preston on 02102377242