Against the backdrop of Australia, a member of the British Commonwealth, officially recognizing the war crimes committed by the Australian military inside Afghanistan, the position taken by the UK authorities in London, which continue to hide genuine information on this issue, and are trying to evade responsibility for them. At the same time, the British and…
As is clear from the memoir of one of his attorneys, Michael Ratner, the ends have always justified the means for those demanding his global persecution. Shortly after WikiLeaks released the Iraq War Logs in October 2010, which documented numerous US war crimes — including video images of the gunning down of two Reuters journalists…
The creation of false opposites has been a long-standing obstacle to human progress. From the ancient pleasure-seeking Epicureans who argued against the logic-heavy Stoics of ancient Rome to the war of “salvation through faith vs works” that schismed western Christianity, to the chaotic emotional energy driving the Jacobin mobs of France whose passions were only…
The unexpected decision by Judge Vanessa Baraitser to deny a US demand to extradite Julian Assange, foiling efforts to send him to a US super-max jail for the rest of his life, is a welcome legal victory, but one swamped by larger lessons that should disturb us deeply. Those who campaigned so vigorously to keep…
I fully expect that Julian will be released on bail this week, pending a possible US appeal against the blocking of his extradition. There was discussion of when and how to make the bail application on Monday, after magistrate Vanessa Baraitser announced her decision not to grant extradition as it would be oppressive on health…
Support for the rule of international law, and for the institutions which uphold it, is one of the principles of my writings. I have therefore always been extremely keen to defend and support the International Criminal Court, despite widespread criticism that it is simply a tool for use against leaders in the developing world and…
