Thousands of supporters gathered last night outside the British Home Office demanding to end to the unlawful detention and persecution of Julian Assange, who is currently being held in London’s notorious Belmarsh Prison.
Crowds cheered as award-winning journalist John Pilger introduced Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, performing on a small stage whilst serenading the British Home Secretary Priti Patel with an acoustic rendition of “Wish You Were Here.”
‘Wish You Were Here’ music by @rogerwaters in support of Julian Assange outside UK Home Office / 2 Sep 2019 #London #FreeAssangeNOW pic.twitter.com/MYmtzzM2ZW
— Patrick Henningsen (@21WIRE) September 2, 2019
After crowds chanted “Free, free Julian Assange,” Waters spoke to the crowd saying that he was “ashamed to be an Englishman” after the UK extraordinary rendition of Assange from Ecuadorian sovereign soil.
21WIRE’s Patrick Henningsen was on site reporting on the event and remarked on the crowd dynamics and media presence:
“About one hour before the speakers arrived there were only a few hundred people around a small makeshift stage, but that soon turned into a few thousand ten minutes beforehand. This was an incredibly well-organized event, but interestingly, there was almost no mainstream media presence to speak of – which in itself is amazing considering the musical and cultural stature of someone like (Roger) Waters. Those who did attend were party to something really historic.”
In addition, Gabriel Shipton, the brother of Julian Assange, also spoke outside UK Home Office protest, describing the cruel conditions of the detention suffered by his brother. Watch:
Assange was apprehended and jailed for violating bail conditions following nearly seven years in residence under political asylum Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
Assange is now being lined up for extradition from the UK to the US, supposedly for his role in the 2010 leaks in conjunction with US Army intelligence whistleblower Chelsea Manning who is also currently being held in custody in the US as federal officials attempt to force Manning under duress to help federal prosecutors create new charges to convict Assange with.
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