As we await the UK High Court decision on Julian Assange’s extradition to the US, the implications of Assange’s persecution and the repercussions for human rights, journalism, peace and justice will be explored at the conference Night Falls in the Evening Lands: the Assange epic, which will be held in Melbourne on March 9.

The opening address will be delivered by Craig Mokhiber, a former Director at the New York Office of the High Commission for Human Rights who resigned over the failure of the UN to prevent genocide in Gaza, naming the UK, the US and much of Europe as “wholly complicit in this horrific assault”.

Former SBS news anchor, Mary Kostakidis will be moderator for a stellar cast that includes Yanis Varoufakis, Dr Emma Shortis, Dr Binoy Kampmark, Dr Ruth Mitchell, Michael West, Professor Anne Orford, Professor Joseph Camilleri, Constantine Pakavakis, John Shipton, and Alistair Crooke. One of the organisers, Professor Joseph Camilleri, spoke with Bay FM reporter Dr John Jiggens.

JJ Professor Joseph Camilleri, you are one of the organisers of the conference, Night Falls in the Evening Lands: the Assange epic, which will be held in Melbourne on March 9. Why is the Julian Assange case so important?

JC Well John, it’s important for many reasons. Of course, there’s the personal tragedy of the man whose health has been so damaged because of what he did, which was to reveal among other things, war crimes committed by the United States, primarily in Iraq. But beyond that, beyond the personal suffering of one man for such a long period of time, it is important because of what was revealed – the misdeeds of the United States, the leading power in the world that claims to be an upholder of democracy and human rights, but whose actions suggest that those principles are often observed rhetorically, but not in practise.

Secondly, it tells us something about the way allies of the United States, in this case of Australia and their citizens, can be treated without the slightest regard for human rights and the rule of law.

And it tells us something about the Australian government,........

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