Twitter has locked the account of WikiLeaks.
The publisher's editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson has taken to Twitter to demand answers after their official account was suspiciously locked just days away from the extradition hearing of its founder Julian Assange.
Hrafnsson exclaimed that the @wikileaks Twitter account had been locked “shortly before Assange extradition hearing” and for seemingly no apparent reason.
WikiLeaks twitter account has been locked, shortly before Assange extradition hearing. All attempts to get it reopened via regular channels have been unsuccessful. It has been impossible to reach a human at twitter to resolve the issue. Can someone fix this?@twittersupport @jack
— Kristinn Hrafnsson (@khrafnsson) February 17, 2020
Unable to “reach a human at Twitter” for answers, he tagged Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey into the conversation in order to hopefully escalate the situation.
There is a clear pattern of this illegal conduct against @wikileaks & #Assange supporters.#JulianAssange is on @coe protected list.
Art 19 UDHR is still in force.
Twitter, pls provide reasons for #censorship#GDPR
Cc @davidakaye @EUGDPRCompliant @DataObservatory @coe @Unity4J pic.twitter.com/v2gex1PHcn— Katya's Compass Shadowbanned ?⚖ (@Katya_Compass) February 17, 2020
Assange's extradition hearing in the United Kingdom begins next week and could result in Assange being extradited to the United States to face charges.
A lack of access has already plagued Assange's situation, with lawyers saying that they're being prevented from communicating enough with their client.
Now, with the Twitter account locked, WikiLeaks is unable to communicate with the public easily.
Supporters for Assange re-tweeted Hrafnsson's post that tagged Dorsey and Twitter, hoping that the account will be reinstated at the earliest.
