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| WikiLeaks' Assange urges support for Snowden, slams Obama 'betrayal' - CNN International Posted: 22 Jun 2013 08:27 AM PDT STORY HIGHLIGHTS
London (CNN) -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange urged the world Saturday to "stand with" Edward Snowden, the man who admitted leaking top-secret details about U.S. surveillance programs, according to the text of a speech posted on Twitter. As he appealed for a "brave country" to step forward and offer Snowden asylum, Assange also accused U.S. President Barack Obama of betraying a generation of "young, technically minded people." Assange was scheduled to speak from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on Saturday, but the appearance was postponed at short notice "due to a security situation," WikiLeaks said on Twitter. Wednesday marked a year since Assange sought refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations that he raped one woman and sexually molested another.   Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused in the largest leak of classified documents in U.S. history. His court-martial is set to begin Monday, June 3, at Fort Meade, Maryland. He has pleaded guilty to 10 of 22 charges against him and faces up to two decades in jail. He has not pleaded guilty to the most serious charge -- that of aiding U.S. enemies, which carries the potential for a life sentence. At a February proceeding, Manning read a statement detailing why and how he sent classified material to WikiLeaks, a group that facilitates the anonymous leaking of secret information through its website. Key WikiLeaks figures as trial begins HIDE CAPTION Assange has repeatedly said the allegations in Sweden are politically motivated and tied to the work of his website. Ecuador's government granted him asylum in August, but British authorities have said they will arrest him if he leaves the premises. As a result of his decision to seek refuge in the embassy, "I have been able to work in relative safety from a U.S. espionage investigation," said Assange, according to the text of the speech. "But today, Edward Snowden's ordeal is just beginning." Assange's words came hours after Snowden was charged by U.S. federal prosecutors with espionage and theft of government property, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in U.S. District Court in Virginia on Friday. Snowden, 30, has admitted in interviews that he was the source behind the leak of classified documents about the NSA's surveillance programs. Those leaks were the basis of reports this month in Britain's Guardian newspaper and The Washington Post. He is believed to be in hiding in Hong Kong. The United States has asked authorities there to detain the former National Security Agency contract analyst on a provisional arrest warrant, The Washington Post reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials. Assange, in his published speech, said the espionage charge had come "like clockwork," making Snowden the eighth "leaker" to be charged with that count by the Obama administration. "Two dangerous runaway processes have taken root in the last decade, with fatal consequences for democracy," he said. "Government secrecy has been expanding on a terrific scale. Simultaneously, human privacy has been secretly eradicated ... The U.S. government is spying on each and every one of us, but it is Edward Snowden who is charged with espionage for tipping us off." Also among the eight "leakers" is WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning, Assange said. Manning is being court-martialed on charges he aided U.S. enemies by leaking documents he obtained as an Army intelligence analyst. He named the others as Barrett Brown, Jeremy Hammond, Aaron Swartz, Gottfrid Svartholm and Jacob Appelbaum. Assange suggested Obama was the real "traitor" for his failure to live up to his promises of hope, change and transparency in government. And he warned that the U.S. government will lose the battle if it tries to take on the tech-savvy people now calling its actions into question. "Edward Snowden is one of us. Bradley Manning is one of us. They are young, technically minded people from the generation that Barack Obama betrayed. They are the generation that grew up on the Internet, and were shaped by it," he said. "The U.S. government is always going to need intelligence analysts and systems administrators, and they are going to have to hire them from this generation and the ones that follow it. "One day, they will run the CIA and the FBI. This isn't a phenomenon that is going away." Assange added that charging Snowden "is intended to intimidate any country that might be considering standing up for his rights" and appealed for efforts to find asylum for him to be intensified. CNN's Susannah Palk contributed to this report. |
| Zimmerman judge rules experts can't testify on screams in 911 tape - Los Angeles Times Posted: 22 Jun 2013 08:59 AM PDT The judge in the George Zimmerman murder trial ruled that two prosecution audio experts will not be allowed to testify in the case of the neighborhood watch volunteer accused of second-degree murder in the shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. The ruling by Judge Debra S. Nelson was released Saturday morning after hearings stretching over four days in her courtroom in Seminole County, Fla. The judge was asked to decide about background screams recorded on a 911 police tape and whether the voice could be identified. The defense had sought to exclude the prosecution experts, arguing that the science used to make such audio identifications was not reliable. The expert testimony, identifying the voice and screams as Martin's, would prejudice the jury against Zimmerman, defense attorneys argued. The prosecution insisted the science was valid and that it was up to the jury to decide whose voice was heard screaming In her ruling, Nelson held that the 911 tape could be played in court, but that prosecutors will not be allowed to use the audio experts to identify the screams in the background as the voice of Martin. However, the prosecution will be allowed to present any witnesses familiar with Martin's voice to testify, the judge stated. Zimmerman, 29, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of Martin in February, 2012, in Sanford, Fla. He said he shot Martin in self-defense. Opening statements in the trial are scheduled for Monday. The 911 tape is a call from a neighbor who heard the confrontation between Zimmerman and Martin and called police. The recording includes sounds in the background such as screams and possibly words. The screams abruptly stop and a gunshot is heard. Prosecution expert Alan Reich testified that it was Martin who is heard screaming and saying the word "stop" in the background of the call. "He's making it up," Don West, one of Zimmerman's lawyers, argued during the hearing, insisting there's no method to reliably test the sounds, which last just seconds. James Wayman, a defense forensic voice expert, said Reich's report was baffling, and methods used by another prosecution expert, Tom Owen, have never been used to evaluate recordings like the 911 call. Owen, the other prosecution experts, will not be allowed to testify, Nelson ruled. ALSO: Judge bars some words in Zimmerman murder trial Lawyer involved in gulf oil spill claims quits amid allegation Solstice draws scores of yogis to Times Square seeking inner peace michael.muskal@latimes.com |
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