A major turning point in his son’s freedom campaign only twelve days away, John Shipton exuded calm and at times, joy, during an intimate forum in Mullumbimby last week.
Mr Shipton, himself the proud father of children including Julian Assange and grandfather of others, shared how he had not long come from meeting his neighbour’s newborn grandchild.
His obvious empathy for the man’s bursting pride, as he so well described in detail, was one of several emotionally charged exchanges with the audience.
Mr Shipton was clear he saw the persecution against his son, the detained Australian WikiLeaks founder facing extradition from the UK to the US, as entirely political rather than legal.
Extra charges against Assange not ruled out
He explained again how the US Justice Department told the recent appeal hearing in the extradition case Mr Assange had the right to seek protection under the US Federal Constitution, specifically its First Amendment regarding the right to freedom of speech.
But, Mr Shipton said, the matter of a non-US citizen’s rights had already been tested in a prior case and found to be non-existent, let along guaranteed.
It would be a ‘doomed request’, he told the crowd, without any obvious anger.
It was also possible US authorities would lay extra charges against Mr Assange upon his potential arrival there that invoked the death penalty, Mr Shipton said.
That possibility had not been ruled out despite assurances Mr Assange would not be at risk of death in US incarceration for current charges, he said.
Lest we forget: truth-telling punished
Mr Shipton has been studying, following and telling the world the details of his son’s legal complexities for years and has had one constant complaint: a lack of due process.
He shared brief examples including as related to Switzerland’s earlier legal involvement that led to Mr Assange’s asylum in London’s Ecuadorian Embassy.
There was also the fact that Mr Assange hadn’t hacked into the US system to get and leak classified documents, rather, those crimes were committed by Chelsea Manning, who had already been convicted.
Ms Manning was not pardoned, Mr Shipton said, rather her sentence was commuted.
WikiLeaks was not the only publisher to share the files, Mr Shipton said.
The case against his son was a political move designed to scare journalists and whistleblowers from telling the truth.
Lest we forget, former magistrate and fellow panellist David Heilpern added, the wars that have happened based on false premises and exactly what WikiLeaks had exposed in its Collateral Murder footage: what appear to be US war crimes.
Biden keeps Assange support in sight as election looms
Thirteen years later, his son locked in prison and dreaming of a new life on small farm, John Shipton told supporters in Mullumbimby of some of the politics at play in the lead-up to the US presidential election.
Politics in the US was unpredictable overall, Mr Shipton said, before mentioning some of the politicians of all sides to have shown support for Mr Assange, including Robert F Kennedy Jr.
He also described Assange support forums in the US such as one in New York where the audience had split down the middle with Trump supporters on one side and Democrats on the other.
Mr Shipton said President Jo Biden was to be represented in Australia soon.
The visit would be an opportunity for the president to learn more of the support in Australia for Mr Assange.
Richmond MP meets Assange supporters after false start
The crowd also heard of a ‘Meet your MP’ campaign based further south in Melbourne and Adelaide that had been running from a Facebook group for years in support of Mr Assange.
The campaign had resulted in 76 constituent meetings with local federal MPs on the matter of Mr Assange’s freedom across Australia, reportedly attracting the attention of Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek.
Northern Rivers NSW 4Assange group Coordinator Roy Drew said he understood Ms Plibersek had contacted the ‘Meet your MP’ campaign requesting someone request an appointment with her!
Back on the Northern Rivers, Byron Shire resident Adele Smout succeeded after many attempts in securing an appointment with Federal Labor Member for Richmond Justine Elliot.
The appointment had happened after a false start days before the forum in Mullumbimby.
An earlier appointment had been cancelled when Ms Elliot’s office discovered other Assange supporters were planning to turn up.
The group had planned to wait outside the building but a maximum of four permitted ‘Meet your MP’ appointed guests at a time meant they were considered extra uninvited guests, Mr Drew said, and using the appointment to stage a crowd protest was not permitted.
Mr Drew was one of Ms Smout’s standard permitted maximum of four group appointment members.
The mistake was soon resolved, he said, and another appointment scheduled.
Mr Drew said Ms Elliot appeared genuinely interested at the meeting and wanted to be kept up to date with the campaign but ultimately repeated what Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said, which is that the case is going through its final due legal processes.
Posting to social media afterward, Ms Elliot said the Australian Government had been clear in its view that Julian Assange’s case had dragged on for long enough.
‘There is nothing to be gained from Mr Assange’s ongoing incarceration,’ Ms Elliot wrote, ‘this matter should be brought to a close, allowing Julian Assange to return home’.
From friends to a federal parliament vote in support of Assange
When invited to start the evening by telling the crowd whatever he felt was most important for people to know in the leadup to the UK’s High Court appeal decision expected on 20 May, Mr Shipton said it was them.
He said in just a few short years, Australian government support for his son’s freedom had expanded from a small parliamentary friends committee launched by Tasmanian Senators Andrew Wilkie and Peter Whish-Wilson to a majority vote in parliament recently calling for an end to his case.
The government support was a reflection of the unwavering community campaign for Julian Assange over the years, Mr Shipton said, and supporters needed to remember that.
Support for Mr Assange around the world remained strong too, he said, listing examples from Paris to London to Mexico.
Around seventy people turned out on a cold and rainy mid-week night in Mullumbimby last week to hear one of Mr Assange’s most relentless advocates speak in his last Northern Rivers tour stop after speaking at Nimbin’s Mardi Grass the weekend prior.
The Civic Hall took on a living room feel as cake was shared and a live music duo performed originals devoted to the raison d’être before and after the Q and A session hosted by Turning Point Talks.
Mr Shipton, a well-read intellectual at heart, quoted from history and literature at poignant moments.
NB The writer was also on the panel, interviewing and facilitating audience questions as a guest of Turning Point Talks.
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