Anonymous Catalonia, Junts per Catalunya, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, the Candidacy of Popular Unity, Demòcrates de Catalunya, the Pirate Party, Primàries Catalunya and Solidaritat Catalana per la Independència have already joined the call.
On Monday, February 24, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States is set to be decided in a London court. If that were to happen, he could be sentenced to 175 years in prison. For this reason, dozens of cities around the world have called for mobilizations in Assange’s support under the slogan “Journalism is not a crime”.
The Catalan National Assembly has promoted and organized the mobilization of support in Barcelona, and thus adds the Catalan capital to the rest of protests around the world. The demonstration will take place on Monday the 24th, at 7.30 pm, in Plaça Universitat, Barcelona.
The choice of location in Barcelona is not a coincidence. During the fall of 2017, Mr. Assange repeatedly showed his support for Catalonia’s right to self-determination, and the most iconic image of such support was in a video conference organized by the Universities for the Republic group, conformed by the main organizations of Catalan university students, including the ANJI, the youth branch of the Catalan National Assembly.
Assange asserted in his message to the Catalan capital that “people from all over the West will learn from your experience” and insisted that “wherever Catalonia goes, other states will follow it”. He also described the referendum on October 1 as “a turning point in the history of the West.”
That is why during the rally, in addition to showing rejection to Julian Assange’s extradition and supporting journalism, the Catalan National Assembly will thank the Australian activist’s support for self-determination in Catalonia.