‘First they came for Assange...’

Join us in an exciting discussion between Greece's former minister of finance Yanis Varoufakis and Croatian philosopher Srećko Horvat, founders of the Democracy in Europe Movement (DiEM25), on the importance on whistleblowers, transparency and democracy.

As part of a unique global event which will simultaneously take place in Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Belgrade, Naples and other cities, Brussels will become part of the 4th anniversary of Julian Assange's political asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Inspired by famous Martin Niemöller's poem "First they came ..." about cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis' rise to power and the subsequent purging of their chosen targets, group after group, what the event "First they came for Assange..." wants to stress is that we live in dangerous time in which everyone opposed to the political and financial powers might soon become a target.

First they came after Assange, then they came after Chelsea Manning, then they came after Edward Snowden... who is next? Although the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention recently released the finding that Julian Assange is arbitrarily detained, and more than 500 human rights organisations, law professors, former UN office holders and Nobel Prize winners signed a letter urging governments of Sweden and UK to respect UN's decision to free Assange, he is still living at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London with fear he might be extradited to the US. 

Moderator: Laurent de Sutter (VUB)