02/20/2024 6:12 pm (current 02/20/2024 8:27 pm)
Demonstration participants marched through Vienna with slogans “Free Assange”. ©APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH
On the occasion of the crucial hearings in London regarding the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the US, a demonstration also took place in Vienna on Tuesday.
For the organizer, the Green Association for Fundamental Rights and Freedom of Information (GGI), the extradition process is politically motivated. Organizer Monika Henninger-Erber also called for greater commitment from the Austrian government so that Europe does not give in to US pressure.
Demonstration march for Assange in Vienna
“I think they want to set an example of what threatens journalists who leak “such explosive documents” to the public,” Henninger-Erber told APA. She does not believe Assange would expect a fair trial in the US. It is about defending fundamental rights – “press freedom is one of the central values”. The Austrian government is not doing enough internationally. “The Austrian government remains silent and does not interfere – but I think that we in Europe have to show that we defend our basic values and that is also the task of the Austrian government,” said Henninger-Erber.
Around 250 people at a demonstration of solidarity with Julian Assange in Vienna
Around 250 participants marched on Tuesday afternoon in Vienna from Karlsplatz, past the State Opera, Heldenplatz, Ballhausplatz and Michaelerplatz, to Stephansplatz, chanting slogans “Free Assange”. Given that the organizer GGI was originally founded during the Corona period as the “Greens against mandatory vaccination” and has good contacts in the scene of anti-Corona measures, it happened that Alexander Ehrlich, one of the most prominent faces in this scene, led the demonstration with your speaker truck.
Other participants in the demonstration may also come from this area. For example, one briefcase's orange high-visibility vest was decorated from top to bottom with emblems against mandatory vaccination, Van der Bellen and Nehammer, as well as for neutrality and peace with Russia. In terms of content, however, the sole focus of the demonstration was the release of Julian Assange. Ehrlich, who led the demonstration with his loudspeaker truck, appealed in four languages (German, English, French and Italian) at Ballhausplatz “to the federal president and diplomats” to work for Assange's release.
Final rally at Stephansplatz in Vienna
Daniela Lupp (Zeitenwende), Liza Ulitzka (Die Krähe), Madeleine Petrovic (GGI) and Ortwin Rosner were among those announced as speakers for the final rally at Stephansplatz.