cross-posted from: https://lemmus.org/post/1242124

Assange, 52, has been in London’s high-security Belmarsh prison since 2019 and is wanted in the United States over the release of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables in 2010.

“Assange is a symbol of free speech which is essential for any genuine democracy,” Raggi, who ran Rome’s city hall between 2016 and 2021, told Reuters.

“He has been deprived of his own liberty for years, in awful conditions, for doing his job as a journalist,” she said.

Other Italian cities have taken similar steps. The northern city of Reggio Emilia granted Assange citizenship last month, while Naples is set to follow shortly.

  • SamsonSeinfelder@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    In the beginning he was a whistle blower. In the end he was a Russian marionette. They used him (like Snowden) to leak US documents. His first interview on cameras was for russia today and given the chance to drop damaging information on the Republican Party, he always choosed to drop the dirt of the democratic party. He got played by the FSB hard and is still in denial about this. He is either a bad faith actor or a useful idiot for russias desinformation campaign.

    • anlumo@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Assange isn’t a whistle blower. He was a journalist who published information given to him by whistleblowers (like Manning).

      • Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Published only the secrets that hurt the people he wanted specifically to hurt, while hiding the secrets that made his benefactors look bad. I wouldn’t call that a journalist, I call that an information terrorist

        • anlumo@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Every journalist filters stuff. They might be biased, but it’s still journalism.

          • anarchost@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            He doesn’t advertise himself as a journalist who filters things.

            But if you want him to be held responsible for filtering what he releases, why didn’t he filter the list of gay people in countries where being gay is a death sentence?

            • anlumo@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Freedom of the press is an important part of a democratic society. It’s perfectly fine to not like what they’re publishing (and I certainly don’t like a lot of things that are published), but if you start prosecuting journalists based on what you like and what you don’t like, others will do so as well.

              • anarchost@lemm.ee
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                1 year ago

                This doesn’t address anything I say, it’s just a vague virtue signal about freedom

    • Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      He’s an information and data terrorist. He has everyone’s secrets but only releases the ones that are convenient to him or his handlers. There’s nothing noble about him.

      • statist43@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        What are you talking. his website released even data of the embassy he was granted asylum for few years. They then kicked him out.

        You are talking shit my man.

    • Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      1 year ago

      When the DNC and RNC got hacked, the info came out for both. But what the DNC did pissed off the highly politically engaged - democrats who voted in the primary.