The arrest of Julian Assange makes one thing clear: the United States (US) and its allies do not care about international law and freedom of speech if it is against their “interests”. The remarks of the British ruling elite after the arrest of Assange is just indicative of the above. The inference one can easily draw from British Prime Minister Theresa May’s remarks “in the United Kingdom, no one is above the law” is that the UK law becomes blind when it comes to protecting the lies of the US authorities where they constructed to attack one country after another in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks.

What is the crime that Assange has committed? His offence has been to make sense of dark times. His Wikileaks, according to many serious and credible journalists, is the only source with an impeccable record of accuracy and authenticity which no newspaper, no TV channel, no radio station can equal. This explains why the US is so much eager to indict him. The US wants him so badly because it wants to set an example. By incarcerating and isolating Assange, the US intends to issue a warning to other journalists, activists and whistle-blowers not to follow Wikileak’s path.

Put simply, Julian Assange’s arrest is a blatant attack on the press freedoms and right to information. The arrest and possible extradition of Assange to the US because of Wikileaks’ provision of information to journalists that was in public interest would set a dangerous precedent for journalists. While it is indeed a dark moment for press freedom, the way Assange has been arrested also show the hypocrisy of the US on the issue of human rights.

Looking at the legal aspect of the arrest, the action of Ecuador is not only illegal before international law; it is also not lawful before constitutional law in Ecuador. The arrest of Assange is a violation of the human and constitutional rights that he has under the constitution of Ecuador.

However, what makes the situation challenging is the lack of class solidarity from journalists all over the world. At the same time, by jailing journalists and bad-mouthing the press, Trump’s Justice Department is trying to achieve the criminalisation of journalism. To protect the press freedoms that are under constant threat as democracy as a concept is regressing in these times, the journalists all over the world need to unite and raise their voices as loudly as possible to protest and denounce Assange’s arrest.