The city of Naples on Friday gave
honorary citizenship to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange,
currently held in London's Belmarsh Prison amid US efforts to
extradite him under the espionage act for publishing classified
information on Iraq and Afghanistan and diplomatic cables in
2010 and 2011.
Australian Assange, 52, was awarded the citizenship The
parchment, together with the city's medal, as Naples Mayor
Gaetano Manfredi presented them to Stella Moris, Assange's wife,
during a solemn ceremony held in the Sala dei Baroni of the
Maschio Angioino.
"This award symbolically represents an appeal from the city of
Naples," said Manfredi, "a city that has always defended all
freedoms.
"If we want to defend and strengthen democracies, we must defend
the freedom of the press.
"We must always remember that a strong democracy is made by a
strong press".
Turning to the room, Moris said: "I thank you all and ask you to
keep fighting until Julian is free."
Sixteen members of the US Congress including MAGA Republican and
fierce Trump supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene and leftwing
Democratic firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have written to
President Joe Biden asking him to drop the exytradition bid.
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