Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
MPs demand to meet with Assange before court decides his fate
Call follows concerns raised by UN special rapporteur on torture that the Wikileaks publishers' treatment amounts to torture

A CROSS-PARTY group of MPs has demanded a meeting with jailed journalist Julian Assange ahead of an expected January 4 announcement on whether he is to be extradited to the United States. 

The MPs, including Labour’s Richard Burgon, Diane Abbott and John McDonnell, have written to Justice Secretary Robert Buckland seeking a video meeting with Mr Assange.

Their call follows a recent meeting with United Nations special rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer, who expressed concern about violations of the WikiLeaks founder's human rights. 

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Displaced Palestinians lineup to receive donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 23, 2026
Human Rights / 23 July 2026
23 July 2026
Jana, 8, mourns over the body of her 10-year-old brother, Motaz Abu Shaar, who was killed by the Israeli military, during his funeral at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 14, 2026
Gaza Genocide / 14 July 2026
14 July 2026

82 MPs and peers test incoming premier Andy Burnham’s intentions to reset government policy towards Israel

Staff lay a carpet on the tarmac before President Donald Trump exits Air Force One upon arriving for the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Press Freedom / 12 July 2026
12 July 2026

US Justice Department says the ‘reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are’. But media freedom advocates warn that Trump's ‘war on the press is looking for another victim’

Lebanese and Palestinian journalists take part in a protest against the killing of journalists in the Gaza Strip as they gather at the Martyrs square in downtown Beirut, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025
TUC Congress 2025 / 9 September 2025
9 September 2025

Speaking to the Morning Star’s Ceren Sagir, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists LAURA DAVISON outlines the threats to journalism from Palestine to Britain, and the unique challenges confronting the industry through the rise of AI