Part 1: GaslightingAssange, A Lens Through the Lies
by Jude Fleming, Human Rights Defender, Writer, Teacher, Musician
GaslightingAssange is a psychological warfare operation which explains the the phenomenon of denying the facts and reality of the Julian Assange case by people who control the media, other countries and courts within other countries. I coined the term after years of following his case. It offers a clear explanation for so many inconsistencies, lies, theatrics and torture in plain sight. For 10 years Assange and Wikileaks have been targets for lies, deceptions, half-truths and outright stonewalling (extreme ignoring) with the enthusiastic support and coordination of hostile media organizations, hostile governments and powerful corporations. Outside of this paradigm, the Assange case makes no sense. Within this paradigm, the world can hold governments to account for his persecution, prosecution, arbitrary detention, reputational harm and yes, torture. This blog offers a brain transplant, an Assange-Thinking-Cap or new lens to review a decade of psychological operations against him. That is, afterall, what the CIA and MI5, MI6 specialise in. Recall the “You call it torture, we call it enhanced interrogation. You call it anal rape, we call it rectal feeding” episodes. Assange is the victim of Gaslighting which included propaganda, but goes deeper. It amounts to “The Assange Policy” (my term, coined in earlier posts) similar to governments’ positions on international affairs, climate change and or immigration. Read Caitlin Johnstone’s related post.
Assange is an Australian who’s been caught in a mousetrap constructed by five countries: Britain (UK), United States (US), Sweden, Ecuador and Australia. These nations have cooperated to exact psychological abuse in revenge for Assange and Wikileaks’ work.
I will be writing a GaslightingAssange series with examples and links for reference. Start here for a definition of general gaslighting as a method of psychological abuse. Here is an important post to read now for legal context on how Britain stacked the deck against Assange. The UK has a Supreme Court scandal which has yet to receive international attention.
Read a thread I wrote on Twitter following Season 1 of the Assange Case in late February for a detailed primer on Gaslighting Assange.
With days before phase two of the US Extradition hearing, the world needs to view every action, inaction, word, gesture, media article or video in the context of GaslightingAssange or you will miss the point completely. The United Nations Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer has challenged the five nations involved in Assange’s ongoing torture, arbitrary detention and condemned their flouting of international law. He has been stonewalled, trolled and chastised by the abusive nations involved. This series provides a scaffolding to understand his numerous reports, articles and media appearances.
Assange is wanted in the US for his publishing, writing, speaking and geopolitical analysis of historical and future issues. He is an important voice in discussions on privacy, artificial intelligence, corporate behaviour and governments who run the world, supposedly on our behalf. He is a figure who could help shape the world in directions that most Global Citizens want, but powerful persons oppose.
It looks like the UK would rather Assange die in custody than ever walk out of Belmarsh maximum security prison. Its arguments are circular, illogical and yet another version of GaslightingAssange. ~Jude Fleming
I am concerned about the Gong-Show that happened to Assange and his lawyers during phase one of the US Extradition hearing (Feb. 24 to 28, 2020) and blatant exercise of GaslightingAssange. The contempt of his humanity, human and legal rights and taunting him toward suicide must end. British courts have been the stage for defamation, humiliation and ongoing psychological torture, not a venue for justice. Not only is Assange getting gaslit, so are his legal team. In plain sight in court. Craig Murray’s accounts are surreal.
Read this by Noam Chomsky and Alice Walker: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/julian-assange-trial-us-trump-chelsea-manning-chomsky-walker-b420930.html
I will be writing on the following topics, in no particular order and may be making adjustments along the way.
GaslightingAssange Topics and Denials:
- Arbitrary Detention (free to leave at any time, self imposed exile) Assange was Kettled. Plain and simple. Worse, UK judges have publicly blamed Assange for wasting tax money when it was their policy to entrap him. How much money did it waste? The Assange Policy was delivered by Judge Arbuthnot (wife of a high ranking former Conservative UK MP) — cruel contempt, GaslightingAssange, dripping with sadism and obviously ghost-written by politicians, lawyers and paid judges. Read the talking points in the two rulings Feb. 2018 after Sweden dropped its case but the UK still wanted to arrest him for breaching bail on a now non-existent warrant. Read. I will write a separate post on KettlingAssange in Part 11 because it is an essential piece of the stalemate and deception in the Assange case.
2. Health Conditions: COVID19 Pandemic. Assange’s fears of dying from COVID are sane, not exaggerated and a verified threat. He’s not just being a narcissist about it. It’s not “all about him”. It’s not paranoia.
For starters, the COVID19 pandemic is ripping through Belmarsh maximum security prison, Assange has sought to be released on bail on house arrest to reduce his risk of contracting the virus, but the UK judges (it’s a team) have refused it, diminishing the validated, imminent threat to his life. That’s gaslighting. The message is: Your paranoia about COVID 19 is not real. You are exaggerating. You’ll be fine. Here is my article on Britain’s duty to protect prisoner’s welfare while in custody or face corporate manslaugther criminal charges. Assange’s Body Bag is At the Ready.
Read what prison reform and prisoner advocacy groups have to say about COVID in prisons. Lawsuits are lining up against the Minister of Justice on behalf of prisoners in the UK. See Part 8, When Politicians and Judges Ignore Doctors Orders.
3. Danger Level to Society
Assange is no danger to society. He’s not a murderer or terrorist. He is a non-violent prisoner on remand which means he is awaiting potential extradition , completed 50 wk vindictive sentence for seeking asylum (thereby not surrendering to UK police when ordered to do so). He is in pretrial detention at the behest of the U.S., in a maximum security jail and is currently unconvicted of any crime. Hi bail sentence was fully served in late September. after remission of time. His continued incarceration is an abuse of UK power, with a side justification of “flight-risk”. He wants to be with his family in the UK. He should be released on bail immediately. Britain has deliberately placed him in legal limbo (again). I wrote about how he does not qualify for immediate COVID release measures because he does not meet the specific criteria — because he is innocent, on remand, not awaiting sentencing etc.. He has been excluded.
4. Actual Legal Standing with respect to UK Law and The initial premise of the Assange case, Sexual Conduct EAW
I’ve written a few posts on this, but take the time to review this annex of CPS emails (336 pgs) to get a sense of behind the scenes corruption.
Please jump to Part 2 of this GaslightingAssange series, “No one is above the law”.
Compulsory reading in the meantime:
These articles provide important background and context to the mind-bend (distortion, lie) on Assange, his supporters, lawyers and Global Citizens. It is a highly militarized psychological operation conducted by US and UK intelligence agencies, technologies, spies, diplomats, government representatives and media consultancies. Assange is a single human being up against an army of hostile forces. He is at the apex of US and UK revenge.
Statecraft Integrity Initiative, the UK gov’t propaganda department, spin cycle, psy ops
Lissa Johnson, Clinical Psychologiston WSWS site.
Debunking all the Assange Smears by Caitlin Johnstone.
Lancet by @Doctors4Assange article here via WSWS.
Nils Melzer’s Full Report and watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4rTv8FL6lg&feature=youtu.be
Integrity Initiative international PsyOps (psychological operations which recruits journalists to write hit pieces on political targets).