Contributed by Joe Montero

On Tuesday night Australian time, Jullian Assange supporters collected outside Flinders Street Station in Melbourne and outside the British Deputy high Commissioner’s Office in the same city. I was one of them.

This was repeated in other parts of Australia. They were there, linked to live internet link to London to witness the verdict to the application by Julian’s lawyers for the right to launch an appeal against a prior court decision to allow Washington to have him extradited to the United States.

When the announcement came, the judges recognised that Julian Assange’s human rights had been violated and that he has been mistreated. This is the good part. Any reasonable person would expect that this is enough to throw the case out, and the judges should have recommended this and nothing else.

Photo by Neil Hall/EPA/EFE: Jullian Assange’s wife Stella speaks out after judges announce their decision

This isn’t what they did. They criticised on the one hand and provided an opening for the prosecutors to continue. In summary, they said that provided the United States submitted in writing submitted in writing that Julian would not be killed or mistreated, the have the green light to continue with the extradition process.

The positive side is that the appeal will go ahead, and this will provide opportunity to raise the issues and build momentum in the campaign. hopefully, it will provide the British government and courts with a way out of their situation.

Such an extraordinary result can only be interpreted this way. The British government and courts have a dilemma. Servicing Washington’s desires causes damage to the standing of British law. Just handing their victim over without fallout is impossible. So, a back door is sought by pretending to be understanding, while betraying him at the same time.

Nevertheless, time has been gained by Julian and his supporters, providing an opportunity to better prepare for the next phase of this epic battle. It should be understood that this only came about because of the courage of Assange and his family, and the actions of his many supporters in Great Britain, the United Sates, and of course, in Australia. Behind them are the countless supporters across the rest of the world.

There is now more widespread recognition that all our rights are under threat if this attempt to put a muzzle on the right to speak out succeeds. This is a test case to circumvent international law and the laws of nations and replace them with the rule of law according to those in control in Washington. It means giving the go ahead to apprehend anyone anywhere on this planet for what they say and write.

One outcome of this has been the jump in the number of parliamentarians prepared to speak out. Australia is leading the way., where the majority of the parliament, including government members, have taken a stand for Julian. This is building in the other two countries. A motion to the same effect was carried in the German parliament. A range of heads of state, parliament, and leaders hare following suite.

Journalists, journalist organisations, and media outlets around the world have realised that they are under threat for similar disclosures of inconvenient information, and they are speaking out.

No more proof is needed to show that it is possible to build enough pressure to defeat the intention of governments. The key is to build public opinion and anger, to the point where a government is compelled to weigh whether the cost of continuing is too high. It may be that the British government is close to this point.

For the United States, its continued hunting of Julian Assange casts further doubts on its claims of respect for the law and champion of freedom. The pursuing of extradition is contributing to its failing reputation and diminishing of political prestige and authority.

Like London, Washington is faced with coming to terms with whether the cost of getting their man is greater than the potential benefit.

For Assange, his family, and supporters, this means stepping up the campaign. vigils and marches must continue. So must talks and media events continue. This is stating the obvious. There should also be an increase in other creative ways to bring what is going to public attention. Here we are mainly talking about Australia, where the Murdoch controlled media has imposed a great deal of silence over this issue.

But the campaign to free Julian Assange has overwhelming public support. The need is to ratchet this up to a higher level. Australia must all on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take a stronger stand on behalf of the Australian government. Australia must call on him to mince no words and clearly demand the release of this Australian citizen. Australia must call on the Prime Minister and his ministers to take the case to all relevant international forums. The prime Minister should also acknowledge and support the campaign being fought by Assange’s supporters.

This battle must go on until victory is won. There is too much at stake to do otherwise.