The quote above was used to condemn the victims of Josef Stalin in the 1930s show trials, recently given a new lease of life by US President Donald Trump in reference to Julian Assange, independent journalist of international repute and founder of WikiLeaks.

As the South-West’s lone voice of bold, independent and uncompromising journalism, The BRISTOLIAN here makes a public editorial statement of SOLIDARITY with fellow journalist JULIAN ASSANGE, who, after having his ASYLUM at the Ecuadorian Embassy REVOKED in a CLEAR, UNPRECEDENTED BREACH of international law, is now being held in 23HR PER DAY SOLITARY confinement in Belmarsh Prison under an absurdly DRACONIAN interpretation of bail law.

Refused LEGITIMATE ACCESS to his defence lawyers, solely FOR DOING HIS JOB AS A JOURNALIST, Assange is furiously fighting extradition to face a SECRET ‘grand jury’ court in the USA, where a potential sentence of 175 YEARS for alleged ‘espionage’ awaits him.

Assange has been consistently hounded, smeared and abused in the mainstream media, simply because his organisation broke the TRUE STORY OF US WAR CRIMES COMMITTED IN IRAQ IN 2007. The Guardian and the New York Times at the time made lots of publicity (and money) from assisting his revelations. Yet both the “LIBERAL” AND CONSERVATIVE voices of mainstream media opinion have since fused into ONE SINGLE CACOPHONY OF GRUNTING PIG-HUMANS straight out of George Orwell’s ANIMAL FARM.

Both Assange and CHELSEA MANNING (his heroic, principled source for exposing the 2007 mass murders) have been alternatively IGNORED, CONDEMNED, RIDICULED or DISMISSED in the mainstream press, Manning’s Trans-status notwithstanding (normally a favourite cause in the identity-politics-focused Guardian – but oddly NOT in relation to THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR PRESS FREEDOM TODAY).

The BRISTOLIAN therefore exhorts its readership to support and show full solidarity with Julian and Chelsea. For if they can come for Assange and Manning in such a way and get away with it, then ONE DAY THEY WILL COME FOR US ALL.

* The latest news from WikiLeaks, suppressed by the mainstream media, is that Assange has fallen seriously ill and is in Belmarsh Prison Hospital, thanks to his 7 year confinement in one room with no access to medical attention. We say that he should be RELEASED forthwith, and allowed to recover fully from his illness and ordeal WITHOUT FURTHER HARASSMENT OR PERSECUTION.