With his media platform WikiLeaks, Julian Assange exposed war crimes committed by US and European armies against Iraq and Afghanistan. Once grounds for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination, today his journalistic work is rewarded with a witch-hunt and imprisonment. On the outside, his wife Stella is fighting for his freedom.
Peter Mertens meets her for an in-depth conversation to discuss how his imprisonment serves as a cover-up of state sponsored crimes, how wars start with lies and can only be ended with the truth, how Julian Assange’s case sets a new standard for criminalizing journalism worldwide, and Stella’s plea against powerlessness in the fight for democracy.
Stella Assange is a justice advocate and human rights defender. Stella joined Julian Assange’s legal team in 2011 and has been fighting to get him free since. On March 23, 2022, Stella married Julian Assange in a ceremony that took place in Belmarsh Prison. Stella Assange calls to stay informed on developments in the case against Julian.
Peter Mertens is the general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PVDA-PTB). Sociologist by training, he worked in the port of Ghent after his studies. Peter is the author of political bestsellers, such as “They have forgotten us” (2020), a strident manifesto about crisis and greed in times of corona. About an old world dying and a new one yet to be born. A call for commitment.
