An evening in support of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is taking place in the Red Sun. PEN Berlin organizes it for its honorary member, writers such as Friedrich Ani and other cultural workers make appearances.
Just this weekend, a human chain wound around Parliament in London to demonstrate against the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States. Now the authors’ association PEN is organizing an evening of solidarity with the Wikileaks founder in Munich. Assange is an honorary member of PEN Berlin, he lived for seven long years as a political refugee in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and has been in British solitary confinement since 2019. Because Assange made public US war crimes with Wikileaks, the United States is pursuing him. European countries are also demanding his extradition. The organizers quote Nils Melzer, UN Special Rapporteur on torture, on his situation: “I have never seen a group of democratic states come together to deliberately isolate, demonize and disregard a single individual for so long.”
In Munich, a panel will discuss the associated violations of press freedom: Margit Ketterle (IG Freedom of Opinion in the Book Trade Association), director Angela Richter, Ralf Nestmeyer from Writers-In-Prison, BR moderator Knut Cordsen, FAZ journalist Patrick Bahners and author Friedrich Ani. On Wednesday, October 26, 7 p.m. in the Rote Sonne club.