Assange may be free, but journalism everywhere is in chains

The overwhelmingly positive response to the pictures of Julian Assange stepping back onto Australian soil and hugging his wife speaks to the very human story at the core of this 14-year saga.

It’s a good news story for him, for his family, and now it seems we’ve acknowledged, for the country. Australia was able to stand up for its citizen, against one of the most powerful countries in the world, and bring him home.

Lawyer Jennifer Robinson watches on as Julian Assange is greeted by his wife Stella upon his return to Australia last week.Credit: Getty Images

While Assange’s return is a win after a long battle for freedom, there are many publishers and journalists across the world who remain imprisoned. The Committee to Protect Journalists has warned that in the past two years, a record-breaking number of journalists have been jailed, a disturbing barometer of the vitriol of repressive regimes determined to stifle independent voices.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) highlights the Asia-Pacific region as one of the world’s most dangerous regions to practice journalism.

Five countries in the region are ranked among the world’s “bottom 10” on the RSF World Press Freedom Index for 2024, a list of the most dangerous countries for media personnel: China, North Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam and Afghanistan. And none of the region’s countries feature in the index’s top 10 (Australia itself languishes at number 39 out of 180 countries).

We will be at the National Press Club on Monday talking about the plight of our client, Jimmy Lai, long time pro-democracy activist, media owner and, at 76, Hong Kong’s oldest political prisoner.

Lawyers for Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai will speak at the National Press Club in Canberra on Monday.Credit: AP

One of Hong Kong’s most successful businessmen, Jimmy Lai remained in Hong Kong as others left to stand with the people and stand up for democracy and free speech.

He founded Apple Daily, a popular Chinese-language newspaper which was unique for its robust pro-democracy and anti-corruption stance.

Through its pages he spoke truth to power and held Beijing’s leaders and the Hong Kong authorities to account – and now he is paying the price. He has been imprisoned for 3½ years, in solitary confinement in a maximum security prison, and now he faces a life sentence under China’s draconian National Security Law. The UK, the US, UN experts and parliaments around the world have been calling for his release.

​​Jimmy Lai’s case is emblematic of the crackdown on free speech, democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong.

This crackdown is also affecting Australians. Just last month, 14 democracy activists, including an Australian citizen, were convicted under controversial national security laws.

Hong Kong has even issued “bounties” for the arrest of high-profile activists living in Australia in exile, including for former legislator Ted Hui and lawyer Kevin Yam, who is also an Australian citizen. Even those on Australian soil are not immune to this threat to media and political freedoms.

Jimmy Lai’s case is also emblematic of the increasing criminalisation of journalism across the region. Australian journalist Cheng Lei spent almost three years in China’s prison system before returning home in October 2023. Journalist Maria Ressa, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has faced multiple criminal charges in the Philippines and faces up to six years in prison for “cyberlibel”.

In Vietnam, blogger and journalist Pham Doan Trang is serving a nine-year sentence for her work. And in Afghanistan, since the Taliban came to power in August 2021 the media landscape has been decimated. In the space of three months, 43 per cent of Afghan media outlets disappeared, and there has been a huge exodus of journalists.

Journalist Cheng Lei spent time in jail in China.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Australia is an important voice in the region, and has for decades been a strong advocate for advancement of human rights in the Indo-Pacific region. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade emphasises that Australia’s commitment to human rights “reflects our national values and is an underlying principle of Australia’s engagement with the international community”.

Freedom of speech is a core Australian value, one that Australia must defend throughout the region. We ask the Australian government to make a stand in Jimmy Lai’s emblematic case, and send a clear message to the Hong Kong authorities, and across the region.

The fact Julian Assange was freed and returned home against all the odds is a story of hope for imprisoned journalists and publishers everywhere. Government action, legal and diplomatic advocacy and a groundswell of public support and action can make a difference. To all those who fought to bring him home, we encourage you to campaign to free others.

Australia did the right thing to stand up for Julian Assange. It can do the right thing again by standing up for free speech in Hong Kong, and joining the UK and US in calling for Jimmy Lai’s release.

Jennifer Robinson is an Australian barrister working in London and a member of Jimmy Lai’s international legal team. She has acted for and advised Julian Assange since 2010.

Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC is an international human rights lawyer and lead counsel for Jimmy Lai. She acts for journalists, including Maria Ressa. Robinson and Gallagher will appear with Jimmy Lai’s son, Sebastien, at the National Press Club on Monday and the Melbourne Press Club on Thursday.

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