Cities to stage event marking Assange's four years in Ecuadorean Embassy

Updated

A global event celebrating whistleblowers and freedom of expression will be held this weekend to mark the fourth anniversary of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's stay in the Ecuadorean Embassy.

Under the title First They Came For Assange, songs, speeches and readings will be held simultaneously in a number of cities on Sunday.

Mr Assange has been living inside the embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden where he is wanted for questioning over a sex allegation, which he denies.

He believes he will be taken to the United States to be quizzed over the activities of WikiLeaks if he goes to Sweden.

The simultaneous events at Paris's Centre Pompidou, Berlin's Volksbuhne, Brussels' Theatre Bozar, Madrid's Circulo de Bellas Artes, Milan Fashion Week, Belgrade, Naples and Sarajevo will kick off Assange Week, with additional events in New York, Quito, Buenos Aires and Montevideo.

Participants include Patti Smith, Brian Eno, PJ Harvey, Noam Chomsky, Yanis Varoufakis, Ai Weiwei, Vivienne Westwood, Michael Moore and Ken Loach.

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