I thought it was suicide when Navalny went back to Putin’s Russia in 2021 after recovering in Germany from being poisoned in Russia so although news of his death is sad it’s not surprising. At the same time Assange is still in a U.K. prison and his extradition to and imprisonment in the U.S. would set a chilling precedent for the free world and that is why I sent the following to my representatives in government.

While it’s good to see the U.S. and other nations that claim to cherish the right to free speech and support a free press provide their condolences and criticisms of those responsible for Navalny’s death it’s quite hypocritical of them to do so when Assange, an Australian citizen, is still rotting in a U.K. jail as he continues to fight against extradition to the U.S. where he faces up to 175 years in prison. Regardless of what you think of Assange no journalist should be prosecuted for shedding light on the misdeeds of those in power as that is their most important job and it’s why good journalists, freedom of speech, and a free press are essential in a free society.

Assange did not obtain the material he published illegally and the person that did was tried, convicted, and spent 7 years in prison. Whether or not that is too long or not long enough is up for debate however Assange has done nothing other than publish material that was in the public interest. Imagine how the U.S. would respond if someone in Russia leaked classified information which documented Russian war crimes to an Australian journalist that was based in the U.S.? Do you think for a second the U.S. would even consider sending this person to Russia to face punishment? The U.S. needs to decide if it’s going to start standing for the values it purports to espouse or if it’s going to continue to act like Russia has with Navalny.