On March 22, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducted a survey of the Bhojshala/Kamal Maula Mosque complex, that is situated in the tribal-dominated Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh and made preparations for using carbon-dating equipment
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is set to plead guilty to a single count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence documents, as part of a deal with the Biden administration. This agreement is expected to end Assange’s legal saga, which spanned nearly 15 years.
Case Against Assange
The case against Assange originates from WikiLeaks’ publication of sensitive US military documents, war logs, and diplomatic cables between 2010 and 2011. These disclosures, including footage of a US airstrike in Baghdad, constituted one of the largest breaches of state secrets in US history. Assange was accused of conspiring with Chelsea Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst, to obtain classified materials.
Chelsea Manning, who leaked the documents, was convicted in 2013 but had her 35-year prison sentence commuted by President Barack Obama in 2017.
The US criminally charged Assange in 2019 under the Trump administration with violating the Espionage Act and was seeking to extradite him from the UK, where he has been in prison ever since. The initial charges — 17 related to espionage and one to computer misuse — carried a maximum penalty of 175 years in prison if he was found guilty on all counts.
Plea Deal
Assange, 52, has agreed to plead guilty to violating US espionage law. As part of the deal, he will be sentenced to 62 months, which corresponds to the time he has already served in UK prisons. The sentencing will take place at a hearing scheduled on Wednesday in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands.
After sentencing, he will return to his home in Australia.
Global Campaign And Support
During his ordeal, Assange became a hero to free speech campaigners around the world and a villain to those who thought he endangered US national security and intelligence sources by revealing secrets.
He has spent more than a decade either in custody or holed up in Ecuador’s London embassy, trying to avoid extradition. Assange has been detained in London’s high-security Belmarsh prison for the last five years.
According to WikiLeaks, Assange’s plea deal and imminent return to Australia are the result of a global campaign involving grassroots organizers, press freedom advocates, legislators, and leaders from various political backgrounds. This support extended to international bodies such as the United Nations.
Delhi Minister Atishi has been hospitalised after her health deteriorated due to her indefinite hunger strike over the water crisis in the national capital, her party said on Tuesday.
In a post on ‘X’, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that the 43-year-old water minister was admitted to the emergency ICU at Delhi’s Lok Nayak Hospital after her blood sugar level dropped to 36.
“Her blood sugar level dropped to 43 at midnight and to 36 at 3 AM, after which LNJP Hospital doctors advised immediate hospitalization. She has not eaten anything for the last five days,” the AAP said and posted pictures of Ms Atishi being taken to the hospital.
“She’s been admitted in the emergency ICU at LNJP. We pray for her speedy recovery,” it added.
🚨 Water Minister Atishi’s health deteriorates 🚨
Her blood sugar level dropped to 43 at midnight and to 36 at 3 AM, after which LNJP Hospital doctors advised immediate hospitalization. She has not eaten anything for the last five days and is on an indefinite hunger strike… pic.twitter.com/nl5iTfnwnT
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) June 24, 2024
Ms Atishi, who began her hunger strike on June 21 amid a prolonged heatwave in Delhi, has demanded the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Haryana release water for the national capital. She has accused Haryana of depriving nearly 28 lakh people of Delhi by releasing 100 million gallons per day (MGD) less water.
ALSO READ | Amid Delhi Water Crisis, AAP’s Appeal To Haryana On “Humanitarian Ground”
“There are 2.8 million people in the city who are aching for just a drop of water,” she said on Monday, the fourth day of her fast.
“My blood pressure and sugar levels are dropping and my weight has gone down. Ketone level is very high which can have harmful effects in the long run,” she said in a video message posted on her official X account.
अनिश्चितक़ालीन अनशन का चौथा दिन- जलमंत्री आतिशी का दिल्लीवालों के लिए संदेश
-Posted by Team Atishi#PaaniSatyagrah4thDay pic.twitter.com/Fc8hkdjtXB
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) June 24, 2024
No matter how much my body suffers, I will continue the fast till Haryana releases water, the AAP minister said.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday said that Atishi has lost about 2 kg weight in the four days of her indefinite fast.
In a statement, the party said, “Water Minister Atishi’s weight is decreasing unexpectedly. Before sitting on hunger strike on June 21, her weight was 65.8 kg which has come down to 63.6 kg on the fourth day of the hunger strike. That is, her weight has decreased by 2.2 kg in just four days,” the statement said.
ALSO READ | Atishi, Raghav Chadha Meet Arvind Kejriwal In Jail, Discuss Water Crisis
The party also said that her blood sugar level has decreased by 28 units on the fourth day as compared to the first day of the hunger strike.
Earlier on Sunday, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena held a meeting with a delegation of AAP leaders and said that Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has assured that he will look into whether his state can provide extra water to the city.