Free Software Movement of India strongly condemns the arrest of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in London at the instigation of the US. Assange will be extradited to the United States, where he faces a grand jury indictment, possibly on charges of espionage. The arrest of Assange is an attack on the freedom of expression, and goes against an advisory by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which says those seeking asylum should not be sent to countries where they face the death penalty or other forms of persecution. Assange's arrest comes after Chelsea Manning was jailed for refusing to testify against him in front of a Grand Jury.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo once called Wikileaks a "non-state intelligence service." The US intends to try Assange for espionage so as to prevent him from accessing the protection guaranteed by the freedom of press which is a part of the US constitution. The arrest of Assange is a huge blow to the freedom of speech across the world. The global conspiracy that has led to the arrest of Assange seeks to send a warning to those who would expose important information that governments seek to hide by calling it matters of national security. However, the work of those like Assange, Manning and Edward Snowden and others inspired by them will ensure that the efforts of such global powers are foiled. We stand in solidarity with Julian Assange and urge people across the world to rise to his defence.