The imprisonment of Julian Assange

Fault Lines examines what the Assange case says about press freedom and the consequences of publishing state secrets.

In this episode of fault linesWe look at what the Julian Assange case could mean for press freedom and the consequences he faces for publishing state secrets.

In 2010, the WikiLeaks founder partnered with other media organizations to release hundreds of thousands of classified US documents about its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It remains the largest leak of classified information to date.

He is the only publisher facing charges for publishing this material.

The Australian citizen faces a 175-year sentence and has been charged under the US Espionage Act for activities journalists engage in every day.

It’s the first time the Act has been used against a publisher, ringing alarm bells among First Amendment advocates. Meanwhile, he is being held in the UK’s toughest prison due to an extradition request from the US.