Julian Assange für Friedensnobelpreis nominiert

Anlässlich ihrer Nominierung von Julian Assange für den Friedensnobelpreis 2022 erklären Sevim Dagdelen (MdB) und Martin Sonneborn (MdEP): „Für seinen Einsatz für Frieden, Demokratie, Freiheit und Menschenrechte gehört Julian Assange ausgezeichnet, nicht eingekerkert. Daher haben wir Julian Assange für den Friedensnobelpreis nominiert.“

Sevim Dagdelen (DIE LINKE): „Mit seinen Enthüllungen hat der Journalist Julian Assange die Brutalität der Kriege der USA in Afghanistan und im Irak publik gemacht und den Opfern von Kriegsverbrechen ein Gesicht gegeben. Hierfür sitzt Assange seit über 1.000 Tagen im Londoner Hochsicherheitsgefängnis Belmarsh, dem britischen ‚Guantanamo‘, fest. Dass ihm nach wie vor die Auslieferung an die USA droht, dessen Regierungsbehörden nachgewiesenermaßen Entführungs- und Mordpläne gegen ihn geschmiedet haben, ist ein rechtsstaatlicher Skandal. Die Auslieferung muss verhindert werden.“

Martin Sonneborn (DIE PARTEI): „Wir sind der festen Überzeugung, dass Julian Assange diese Auszeichnung zusteht – und würden im Gegenzug den Friedensnobelpreis zurückgeben, den die Europäische Union 2012 irrtümlich erhalten hat. Bundesaußenministerin Annalena Baerbock sollte sich ihrer Wurzeln im Völkerrecht besinnen und sich für die Freilassung von Julian Assange einsetzen, wie sie es vor wenigen Monaten in der Opposition noch gefordert hat. Smiley.“

Das Nominierungsschreiben findet sich nachstehend und hier (PDF): 2022 01 31 Nobel_Nomination_Julian Assange

Berlin, 31 January 2022

Dear Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee,

We nominate Julian Assange for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, in honour of his unparalleled contributions to the pursuit of peace, and his immense personal sacrifices to promote peace for all.

For over 1,000 days Julian Assange has been arbitrarily detained and tortured, at risk of death according to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and over 100 medical doctors, for revealing the extent of harm and illegality behind the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. By pursuing peace and advocating for transparency, Julian Assange has put his life at risk, as the CIA’s plans on kidnapping and assassinating him demonstrate. Due to his inhumane detention at the high security Belmarsh Prison in the United Kingdom and after years of being subjected to systematic surveillance, isolation and harassment, Julian Assange’s state of health is extremely precarious.

The Collateral Murder video published by Julian Assange and Wikileaks in 2010, honoured the dignity of those slain needlessly in war. It gave names and identities to victims whose humanity had been kept from public view, capturing the last moments of life for a young Reuters photojournalist, Namir Noor-Eldeen. Namir, who was killed in cold blood while on assignment in Baghdad, was described by his colleagues as among “the pre-eminent war photographers in Iraq” with “a tender eye that brought humanity via quiet moments to a vicious war”.

For humanising Namir and his driver Saeed Chmagh, a father of four, slain in front of two children who sat strafed with bullets in a van, Julian Assange faces 175 years in a US prison under the 1917 Espionage Act. As well as humanising innocent victims of war, in 2010 Julian Assange and Wikileaks exposed the means by which public abhorrence of killing is overcome, and peace subverted, by psychological manipulation and strategic messaging.

In March 2010 the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) produced a memorandum, subsequently published by Wikileaks, entitled, Afghanistan: Sustaining West European Support for the NATO-led Mission-Why Counting on Apathy Might Not Be Enough. At the time of the memorandum, 80 percent of French and German publics opposed greater troop deployment to Afghanistan. The memo expressed concern that public “indifference might turn into active hostility if spring and summer fighting results in an upsurge in military or Afghan civilian casualties.” To overcome public opposition to the “bloody summer” ahead, the memorandum advised tailoring messages for French audiences that “could tap into acute French concern for civilians and refugees”, given that French “opponents most commonly argued that the mission hurts civilians.” “Appeals by President Obama and Afghan women might gain traction”, the memorandum added.

With respect to the legalities of peace, Julian Assange and Wikileaks have contributed to the historical record on the International Criminal Court (ICC), established in 2002 under the Rome Statute of 1998, to promote the “peace, security and well-being of the world.” The ICC’s mission was to end impunity by prosecuting “the worst atrocities known to mankind”: war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide.

When the ICC’s enforcement capabilities were taking shape in the years following its inception, cables published by WikiLeaks exposed bilateral deals between nations under Article 98 of the Rome Statute, in which states placed themselves outside the ICC’s jurisdiction. The Article 98 deals undercut the ICC’s power to prosecute war crimes and other internationally illegal obstacles to a peaceful world order.

These are but a selection of the contributions that Julian Assange has made towards pursuing and defending lasting peace. His actions have exposed the architecture of abuse and war, and fortified the architecture of peace. In return, Julian Assange has been forced to sacrifice his very liberties, rights and human welfare that he worked so hard to defend.

A Nobel Peace Prize for Julian Assange would do more than honour his actions as individuals. It would ennoble the risks and sacrifices that those pursuing peace so often undertake, to secure the peace and freedom for all.

Sincerely,

Sevim Dağdelen (Member of the German Bundestag) and Martin Sonneborn (Member of the European Parliament)