Julian Assange Documentary, Ithaka
Image: Queer Greens Victoria. Image: Facebook.
This documentary ultimately asks, is Australian editor, publisher and activist Julian Assange a hero or villain? And is the ideology that ‘the truth will set you free’ merely that – an ideology that will never see fruition?
Assange founded WikiLeaks (a whistle blower website) in 2006 and the world took notice when in 2010 he published clear evidence of war crimes including the Baghdad airstrike and the Iraq war logs. Incredibly a criminal investigation into Wikileaks was launched by the US government.
He was locked up in London’s notorious Belmarsh maximum security prison (which is reportedly a more hellish sentence than death) until the trial of the century ensured. He faced extradition to the US where he could face a 175-year sentence in jail under the espionage act if found guilty.
Assange was only guilty of publishing the truth which revealed war crimes against humanity, and lies and corruption by the government. Is it not an injustice that people who committed these crimes are not on trial and yet the liberty of the courageous man who revealed these war crimes is compromised?
Why should people who expose war crimes be imprisoned for the term of their natural lives? If Assange goes down so will journalism. This controversial and thought-provoking documentary resonates that journalism is not a crime.
The cameras follow Assange’s 76-year-old father John Shipton and fiancé/lawyer Stella Morris as they work tirelessly until Assange can return home to Melbourne. News footage and media interviews enhance the validity and urgency of this shattering story. Audiences who aren’t familiar with the outcome may be shocked at what transpires and should come to the realisation of what we already knew – the law is an ass.
★★★★
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