Ai Weiwei
The high court in the UK overturned a ruling earlier this year and judged in favor of the US in appeal to extradite Julian Assange. Since 2012 he has lived under asylum and imprisonment, and his health has deteriorated. He suffered a stroke in prison and would not be able to survive the conditions he would be held under if sentenced to 175 years in prison in the US.
Today, freedom of press is under attack and journalists’ safety is at stake, as the powerholders circle and suppress those who provide real information in defense of social justice. Assange represents the fairness of press, which is the most important foundation to guarantee the development of a healthy society. It is only with this foundation that we can measure human rights in a society. Without freedom of press, the entire society’s human rights will be damaged.
In October 2016 Julian Assange gave me a treadmill as a present when he was at the Embassy of Ecuador in London. Today I decided to make a video of myself running on the treadmill and would like to call for everyone’s involvement through uploading short videos of running on a treadmill on the Internet. With this performance, we can show our concern with human rights and freedom of press, as well as our pursuit of social justice. Please upload your videos with #RunForOurRights and #Treadmill.
#RunForOurRights
- in defense of freedom of press and human rights for all.
treadmill runner at Bonzaview