Reporting on a hidden world and saudi arabia finds another form of expression it cannot tolerate. A muslim woman rapping about mecca we begin with the legal fate of Julian Assange this past week saw the commencement of a court case that will determine whether Great Britain should extradite the wiki leaks founder to the United States the American Government has charged the sands for his part in the release of classified military documents and hes looking at a maximum prison term of 175 years sanchez advocates say he has little chance of getting a fair trial in the u. S. That if sent there he could end up facing conditions amounting to torture that is one of the factors that the British Court is legally compelled to consider however the u. K. Authorities are also facing some serious questions in this case about whether a sound is getting a fair hearing and about britains own commitment to human. Rights and the rule of law legal experts medical specialists and the un special rapporteur on torture have all sounded the alarm over the conditions at the maximum security prison where sanchez is currently locked up our starting point this week is a lot. If you want to be told that there was a Court Case Involving a journalist who had been jailed placed in solitary confinement held according to the United Nations torturers conditions denied proper access to their lawyers and you were asked to guess the country involved which you have guessed the united kingdom. The british like to talk about their sense of fair play Julian Assange would argue otherwise if the authorities would let him mr science is being held in the dark at the back of the courtroom. Covered by a glass partition so he is being held in the back as if hes a violent criminal when he actually poses no physical rest to anyone regardless of what you believe about the charges against him he does not look well hes complained several times that he cannot focus properly or follow properly whats going on from behind the glass partition after the 1st day of the hearing he was sent back to the prison a was and cast 11 times sleeps or 2000 he was not the allowed to read the notes he was consulting during the hearing by the prison Authorities Say you know what its really frustrating that this is happening in plain sight where. Julian assange has physical condition was deteriorating long before he was jailed he had spent nearly 7 years cooped up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in london having been granted asylum there in 2012 when a swedish prosecutor was investigating him for Sexual Assault which essential said was an obvious ploy to extradite him to the u. S. That investigation was. Eventually dropped the case was flawed in too many ways to mention 10 months ago after a change of government in ecuador and the subsequent removal of his asylum a sanj was dragged out of the embassy and jailed maximum security style charged with breaching his bail conditions when he entered the embassy now washington awaits this is its extradition request is based on wiki leaks releasing confidential files exposing u. S. War crimes and much more Julian Assange just lawyers contend the prison conditions could be the death of him a group of more than 60 doctors echoed that warning in 3 separate letters sent to the British Government those letters followed an examination of a sanch by the un special rapporteur on torture nils meltzer i came to the conclusion that Julian Assange has been exposed to psychological torture based on medical assessments that we conducted during a 4 hour visit to him on the 9th of may 2019 good innocent showed all the symptoms that are typical for a victim of psychological torture were talking about intense anxiety a constant state of panic that has harmed already has nervous system and has called me to have capabilities although i made an urgent appeal to change the conditions of detention of mr songe after 5 months i received a letter that basically said we reject all occasions of torture and Julian Assange is being a treat according to english law. That is not an appropriate response from a Democratic State that is transparent and committed to the rule of law now the u. K. Person the state and the torricelli not. Im sure hes had some unpleasant conditions that we wouldnt want anyone to have i dont really think we can call that cruel and unusual punishment in this case the problem with having run once is hes not going to win anyone over by complaining has been incarcerated prex. Tradition. Then there is what happened at the Ecuadorian Embassy accusations of american foul play that could affect the legal case awaiting a censure in the u. S. A separate court case is currently underway in spain investigating a Security Firm hired by the ecuadorians called you see global as the madrid based paper has reported you see global had and his lawyers under constant video and audio surveillance and then made that material available to u. S. Intelligence agencies including the cia the company also broke into the phone Service Centers visitors at the embassy staff. Was one of we never. We were asked to leave our foreign reception and we were thought that no one would have access our phone. But. I mean just because i got the pictures of my former complete ass crew and they got access to the car they basically went to. Operation against Julian Assange and all these. Journalists are lawyers doctors youre expect this kind of thing seen rushing. This in democracy as rights to confidential conversations with his own Legal Defense was breached. The United States government which is very aggressively pursuing him on trumped up charges has had access to his Legal Defense strategy and frankly the fact that they have said that that wont be used is insufficient because they have had access to that information. Given what is at stake in the sands case the National Security angle allegations from the u. N. That britain is affectively torturing a dissident you would think british News Organizations would be all over the story they are not saying hes going to cooperate said any of. The publicly owned b. B. C. He is just one example of that the worlds biggest news broadcaster it generates about 120 hours of radio and television output every day according to nils meltzer the b. B. C. Has interviewed him just wants and not on newsnight its flagship news and Current Affairs show or the today programme the Agenda Setting broadcast on radio for that interview appeared on b. B. C. World channel and that global audience is not part of schwartz given that i came out with a very serious accusation against the british authorities there is no reason no excuse for the u. K. Media to cover it because if i am wrong i need to be exposed but if i am right then the u. K. Government needs to be exposed i have to t. V. Interviews with b. B. C. World and its going news and both of these interviews were life interview say they were once but then they were no longer accessible to the public and that i think proves. That the media is not playing its role in this case it should actually be at the top of the news agenda not just in the u. K. But in the us and internationally in europe theres much more vigorous questioning for example from german media from french media that i have seen by the british media there is a notably different Public Opinion about him in the u. K. And the. Us i think than in other parts of the world and that is a reflection of the coverage that the case has been given in this country. Julian assange just supporters and hundreds of them turned out in london last week and blamed the british and american authorities for whats happened to the man from wiki leaks but they also reserve plenty of anger for the news media. That. Choosing. The. British Media Outlets also happily record do this to the stories that wiki leaks in its heyday reveal they reap the benefits in ratings and clicks only to turn their backs on a sandwich failing to give his story the coverage it deserves even though this case has clear ramifications for their journalists and that ultimately is the message that these protesters are here to send that people need to wake up at the implications of the essential case are fast and beyond troubling that its not just about one individual or just one News Organization that ultimately this case is about any government with secrets to keep and any news outlet the stories to tell. How could prosecute not scare us how could it not make you think theyve started doing this now theyll come for the free lunch time this next theyll come for this more news outlet. They have the ability in theory to extend its power across the world but only has done he has. Published information evidence for serious crimes and serious government misconduct that are clearly in the Public Interest to know if this becomes espionage it means that telling the truth becomes a crime and once telling the truth becomes a crime the people no longer have a means to control their government which means that the new. Become a killer. Were discussing other media stories that are on our radar this week with one of our producers may know weve been tracking those demos taking place across india against the new citizenship law the allegedly on constitutional one and weve been tracking the coverage now most of the demos had been peaceful but they turned violent this past week to the point where theyre now being called the delhi riots thats what they started off being called richard but within a few days journalists and activists began having a debate about whether the word delhi full groom wouldnt be more accurate now that would paul graham is defined as an organized riot where certain people usually belonging to one i think would religious community are targeted now in this case muslims have suffered disproportionately bit in damage to their property violent physical attacks even death undeniably hindus have died as well but the numbers stack up more heavily on the muslim side so journalists and anchors whove been calling this violence from both sides have been called out on line for false equivalence is theres a twist to the story as well often youll see c. C. T. V. Cameras are destroyed by rioters who dont want to be identified by the authorities in this case in delhi theres been footage of the police smashing up the c. C. T. V. Cameras after they were criticised of having just stood aside while people were set upon or houses were burned theyre being accused of letting this happen and what are indians hearing from the ruling party the b j p on this well that it it from the beach he has recently shifted up a good richard just a few weeks ago an m. P. From the party said that all the traitors need to be shot he was referring to those protesting against the law and then on the day that the violence sparked in delhi a local b j p leader was acted rally where he told the police that if they dont clear out the protesters then he and his followers would do it themselves since sunday more than 40 people have been killed and hundreds of others have been injured. What about the conditions for the reporters covering the story one of a light lit at least 4 whove been attacked during these protests and this isnt just being caught in the crossfire as these journalists were being beaten up they were asked to prove but their hindu or muslim or ok thanks. More than 2000000 people live within the american prison system that is roughly equivalent to the population of a city like los vegas imprisoned across the country the stories of what really goes on inside are seldom heard which is striking since fictional depictions of prison life have proven to be more than marketable for years films like escape from alcatraz tapio the shah shank redemption more recent Television Programs like prison break and orange is the new black theres something about incarceration that seems to fascinate audiences however nonfictional accounts of life on the inside are much harder to get for journalists who have tried access is the primary issue prison authorities usually control who gets in and what stories get out but some prisoners are determined to make this a beat of their own the journalism they produce behind bars has real value both for audiences and the reporters involved the listening posts flow phillips now on the ultimate inside story prison journalism in america. Cracked last. Community from the bay a San Francisco state prison this is. Broadcasting from inside one of americas oldest prison. Is a radio show produced by k l w public uncut is about telling our stories from our perspective. Its the latest product from san quentin radio which operates out of San Quentin State Prison in Northern California funded by the california arts council. How to tell the story how to be the chroniclers of their experience under lock. And theres a market out there awash with depictions of prison life you know on my door. Stern many fights in there with reality shows like americas toughest prisons true crime documentary series like making a murder and dramas like prison break the worst of the worst for their break. It was. For Troy Williams one of the founders of the san quentin Media Initiative it was clear that people on the outside wanted to know about life behind prison walls so why not tell them the real thing you watch a lot of shows that talk of operating and they never like same they get my story right and so thats when i came up with the idea of producing and saying quote in prison before and from there things just began to take off that was back in 2010 when williams was still serving a life sentence at san quentin for robbery and kidnapping using donated equipment he began producing his own video and audio programs about life in jail he got out in 2014 and continues to work as a producer. Williams is not an anomaly across the United States as a small press corps prisoners telling stories that might otherwise never get told. Some right mostly for their fellow prisoners like kerry miles sentenced to life for 2nd degree murder a crime that he the victims family and the investigating detective all say he did not commit he spent 2 decades writing and editing a magazine the angle light produced out of a maximum security prison in the way. His sentence was commuted and he was released in 2060 i think ive wanted to do that i wanted to write since i was 5 years old and so when i was sent to go always in a state penitentiary they told me into the prison print shop where i stayed for 5 years i got to know they got a tour i got to know the rest of the staff and wanted opening came up. Certainly took took the opportunity to do that the anger light is a chronic color of not only events that happens at the prison but then a light has also been a conscience of the criminal Justice System in louisiana and. Policies nationwide than there are in maids whose journalism has jumped beyond prison rules john j. Lennon is held at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in new york state hes serving a 28 years to life sentence for selling drugs and murder he writes speeches about life in prison for outlets like the Washington Post the new york review of books the Marshall Project and is even a contributing editor for esquire magazine. Story comes from the characters so im constantly in conversation with live here as im sort of taking notes whether it be in the yard and you know i have my pen and pad and im talking to the person and then ill go back to my cell and ill sort of transcribe those notes on my typewriter and i dont even really do too much of my own research whenever i see a story and something i think im bringing im looking at this the story is a little different from my angle right. Of the media setups in the u. S. Prison system right now some quentin is web prison is interested in journalism wants to be theres a newspaper san quentin news theres the radio show on cops and you can see the infield where we see rio in here and theres the hit podcast a house you can drag. All produced by inmates on the inside and its not just about the variety of media and often prisoners at san quentin can even get something of a journalism education from professional reporters like former wall street journal tech reporter yukari kane these men have learned how to be articulate have learned how to write well and they have become experts in criminal justice from the inside there personally affected by paul. C m law and important discussions that are happening now and and theres an opportunity for them to be part of the discussion and the debate outside not just through their own articles but through. And hearing these perspectives giving them a space in the main street is crucial. America has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world but nicu lack of transparency around prison conditions makes coverage from the outside especially challenging. In our interviews with John Jay Leno and cary miles from Troy Williams the key point they kept coming back to was their access to its own parallel they do the kind of reporting no one else can. Expose the practice of a state court of appeal. The 12 years had essentially thrown all pro se supervisory writs into the garbage can meaning of. A writ that was filed an appeal that was filed by a pri