Icelandic Kristinn Hrafnsson, 60, says he doesn’t usually talk about political intricacies in interviews, but says it would be hypocritical to deny that it was the recent wave of elections of leftist politicians in Latin America that brought him to the region.
Editor-in-chief of Wikileaks, he was in Gustavo Petro’s Colombia and is now in Brazil, where he is trying to meet the president-elect, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). The objective is to seek support for the case of Julian Assange, founder of the platform today detained in the United Kingdom.
Assange is in Belmarsh High Security Prison in London. In June, the British government approved his extradition to the US, where he faces charges under the Espionage Act that could carry a prison sentence of 175 years. A friend of the Australian, Hrafnsson spoke to the Sheet on the campus of PUC (Pontifical Catholic University), in São Paulo.
Why tour Latin America right now? We are giving up the official battle. Julian has been fighting in the courts, but throughout this process, we understand that this is not a legal case. The laws are distorted, the whole framework rests on a foundation of public harassment.
It is extremely urgent that we build political support at all levels to urge the US government to stop this — not just the extradition request, but all charges. Support for Julian’s cause, which was almost non-existent, has now grown. It is recognized that this is a serious attack on journalism.
Latin America is at an important crossroads. There are winds of change, and we have decided that this is the right time to knock on doors and ask politicians to come and support us. It’s time to put pressure on the government [de Joe] Biden and tell them to back off.
The timing, then, is influenced by the fact that there are new leftist governments in the region. We knew that, in the past, President-elect Lula was in favor of [a apoiar Julian]🇧🇷 And the same applies to Petro in Colombia. I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t say that we are looking to take advantage of this window of change.
But this is a battle for human rights and press freedom. It’s a chance to seek commitment from the region’s leaders and for them to send a message to the world and to the United States. This extradition request is abhorrent, it goes against the US-UK treaty, which explicitly prohibits extradition on the grounds of political crimes — and the charges against Julian are political in nature.
Biden 10 years ago called Assange a “high-tech terrorist”. Did you expect any different attitude from him when he was elected? Yup. I was with Julian when we published all the leaks that caused such a stir in American society. It was a blast. People have said a lot of things in the heat of the moment, some might even regret it.
Broadly speaking, the charges against Julian criminalize journalism, jeopardizing press freedom around the world. There are strong elements that must be considered by Biden’s Justice Department. It should be an easy step to take because it’s the right thing to do.
Lula defended Assange during the campaign, said he should win the Nobel Peace Prize. What do you expect his? I would be grateful if Lula and his government would participate in this initiative that we are trying to promote in the medium term, sending an urgent message to the White House. Petro has already agreed to do so and urges others to follow suit. It would be a first step, and I hope others will be taken, in diplomatic terms.
One of the main US arguments is that the leaked material could have consequences for the lives of civilians. I know you characterize this as an invalid argument, but after more than a decade, you think you should have published the information otherwise? I was a journalist in the mainstream media for over 20 years before joining WikiLeaks. The care for this material was probably greater than I had experienced before. We removed all non-involved names and references to the point that we were criticized for over-editing the material and taking too long to publish.
There have been no incidents of damage caused due to the leak. It is very easy to say that you are putting people’s lives at risk. Any media organization can be accused of this. But it is an empty claim, a form of propaganda.
Assange remains the public face of WikiLeaks. this is good or bad? It was never Julian’s desire to be the focus of all attention, he is quite private and in fact he was pressured by me and others because there had to be someone to answer questions. At the time it was the right approach, but now he has become a magnet for criticism.
It was good? Bad? Absolutely bad for him, who has paid the price so far. That’s why we put our efforts into the case, to remember that this is not just about Julian Assange, but the work of all journalists.
The volume of investigations has decreased. Did the case reduce the project’s ability to act? We have limited manpower. Lately, we’ve been lucky to have tremendous support from those who are willing to support the fight financially. But I decided we just needed to take a break. The importance of saving journalism is more important than breaking stories.
Still, we influence journalism. Edward Snowden would not have leaked his material if not for WikiLeaks. The Panama Papers would not have happened. Julian created a great legacy.
As Is Assange in? Have you been visiting him? Doctors in London concluded that his mental health had deteriorated to the point where he was at risk of contemplating suicide. I’m one of the few outside the immediate family and lawyers who can visit. He’s a resilient man, but I really fear for his life. He’s lost a lot of weight, hasn’t done proper exercise in years.
When Ecuador closed the asylum, the relationship with the embassy was fragile. He’s been cut off from the internet for interfering in other states’ affairs, there are stories about him skateboarding in the building and pissing off officials. Did his behavior matter? No, this skateboard thing is ridiculous. These factors were a later explanation, a smokescreen to try to justify an unjustifiable measure by the government of Lenín Moreno. We know there was a link between the economic aid that was promised and delivered at Mike Pence meetings [ex-vice-presidente dos EUA] in Quito.
How do you evaluate the moment of freedom of the press in the world? The press is dealing with a very precarious situation, and I think everything has deteriorated with the Covid pandemic. One of the prime examples of this is government permission and support for private social media companies to act to control disinformation — which is indeed a horrible thing and needs to be fought, but not like this.
At the same time, I think there needs to be some soul-searching by journalists about their role in the democratic world and who they are serving, so that we don’t end up in a very bad place.
X-ray | Kristinn Hrafnsson, 60
Journalist, editor-in-chief and spokesperson for WikiLeaks since 2010. He worked for two decades as a journalist in Iceland, his country of origin, most of the time at RUV, a public communication company.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
