FN-organ för mänskliga rättigheter och det fria ordet stödjer Wikileaks

Det kommer hela tiden olika slags inlägg och rapporteringar om Wikileaks. Dels från organisationens arbete med avslöjanden, dels kring en av huvudpersonerna, Assange själv, dels om hur makthavarna reagerar och också i vissa fall direkt tycks vilja sabotera.

Precis just nu kom ett inlägg på ABC´(i Australien) nyhetssida i realttid om att FNs organ för mänskliga rättigheter försvarar Wikileaks ageranden vad gäller rättigheten till det fria ordet. Det är Frank La Rue som i FN har uppdraget att främja och skydda rätten till åsikts- och yttrandefrihet. Hans jobb går under beteckningen ”Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression”.

Här ett utdrag ur intervjun:

ELEANOR HALL: So do you think given that then that the US Government has any grounds to charge the WikiLeaks founder and to seek his extradition?

FRANK LA RUE: I don't think so. I think with the WikiLeaks founder there's two issues at stake. He supposedly is going to be extradited to Sweden for other types of crime not related at all to freedom of expression.

If that is the case I have nothing to say except that I wish that Sweden or any country where he will be tried give him the full guarantees of due process of law and a full possibility of defence.

But in reference to what has been published in WikiLeaks I think there is no criminal responsibility for being the medium. This is one of the big debates in internet and up to now the general doctrine is that there is no responsibility just to transfer information.

There is a responsibility in I would say in this case in two situations. One is that some statements can clearly be a threat to national security. And the second issue is the personal safety of individuals. Those are the cases that really have to be looked at.

But having said that just the fact that the information is embarrassing information to a government does not make it subject to be blocked or filtered or reprisals to the director/founder of the service. "

Läs vidare här på ABCs sida.


© CMM Nya Tiden, dec 2010.