In the wake of a recent revelation that Icelander Sigurdur Thórdarson, a key witness in the US’s indictment of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, has admitted to fabricating his accusations against him, 10 Icelandic MPs from five different parties called the US to drop charges against Assange, Icelandic national broadcaster RÚV reported.
They called charges against Assange, who could face up to 175 years in prison if convicted, an attempt to criminalise investigative journalism that sets a bad precedent for freedom of the press, citing torture and deprivation of human rights.
The US is seeking extradition of Assange – currently in London’s high-security Belmarsh prison since being arrested in April 2019 for skipping bail seven years ago- on charges of espionage relating to the release of leaked classified government and military intelligence documents, including information on US military war crimes and torture in the Iraq war and extensive spying on civilians.
Also cited in the letter is a report by Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which found that Assange has been subjected to isolation, disgrace, and stripped of his fundamental human rights as a result of the charges.
Thórdarson, according to Icelandic news outlet Stundin, admitted that he was recruited by the US to build a case against Assange after previously misleading them to believe he was a close associate of his.
In fact, Thórdarson embezzled more than $50,000 raised for Wikileaks while he volunteered for them in 2010 and admitted later that Assange never asked him to hack or access phone recordings of MPs.
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