The extraordinary love story between Stella and her beloved Julian, sounds like one of the most classically intense and romantic novels, where the happy ending is often late in coming.
As a strong-willed woman and renowned professional, Stella decides at a certain point in her life to get involved and finally become the master of her destiny, to save Assange. In the name of that same freedom and justice, which also concerns us all.
Stella Moris or Morris, initially known to the media as the defense lawyer in the team of Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, (indicted for disclosing Top Secret information and war crimes) soon became famous for being the companion of Julian Assange himself, with whom he later had two children and who may soon even marry him in the same Belmarsch prison in the United Kingdom, where he has been imprisoned for two years.
As a result of this imprisonment, Italian sculptor Davide Dormino has thoughtfully recreated a life-size, touring bronze work, depicting three statues (including that of Julian Assange) standing on three chairs, and with a fourth empty chair, which the viewer is invited to use, as the artist points out: "to stand up and talk, while the others remain seated."
Among the controversial and revolutionary characters are Julian Assange, but also Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. And it was Stella herself who was moved to tears when she saw Julian's 'three-dimensional' statue up close during the two-day convention in Geneva this summer, during which various speeches and debates were held on the sensitive issue of freedom of information.
Stella, a woman in love, and at the same time a stubborn woman who does not give up at the first obstacle and continues to fight her battle of love, in the name of freedom and justice forgotten, is also the new woman of the third millennium to whom we dedicate this in-depth study, and with a reflection on it:
"If it is the cause that pursues love or vice versa?".
But let's get a better understanding of the story of this modern fighter, whose name is Stella Moris.
Who is Stella Moris?
"The masterpiece of injustice is to appear fair without being fair."
Platone
Swedish but of South African origin, Stella Moris whose official name is actually Sara Gonzalez Devant, graduated in law and politics from the prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies in London and went on to earn a Master's degree in Oxford in refugee law and a Master's degree in Madrid in public international law. Quickly becoming an established and respected lawyer, Stella was soon recruited to join the legal team of renowned Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzón in the international defense of Julian Assange, who was already residing at the time in the Ecuadorian embassy.
Stella's knowledge of several languages, including Spanish, and her determination and preparation, soon became the key elements in the complex defense of the defendant.
But Stella's first meeting with Assange took place in 2011, in the famous Frontline Club in London, a meeting place for journalists, photographers, international intellectuals and all those who follow the credo of this club:
""We support independent journalism and free speech, campaign for the protection of press freedom and fight for the safety of freelancers doing their important work around the world."
Frontline Club - London -
When Assange was accused of sexual assault in 2010, Stella Moris became his lawyer in the defense of the case. However, the investigations that started with the testimonies of the two female accusers (namely Miss A and Miss W) concerning the rape and sexual harassment suffered by the Wikileaks creator, stopped in 2019, "due to the considerably weakened evidence because of the long period of time that has elapsed since the events in question", as reported by the deputy director of public prosecution Eva-Marie Persson of the Swedish police headquarters.
But if one long chapter of Julian Assange's legal problems in Sweden seems to be over, as BBC diplomatic correspondent Caroline Hawley points out, another in the United States has just begun. In fact, the strong fear of extradition to the US is only the latest stage in a long and difficult battle carried out in recent years by Stella Moris herself, who is currently preparing a defense inside the British prison of Belmarsch against the 18 criminal charges brought by the US, in which a "visibly very tired, aged, sick and increasingly less conscious man" is imprisoned.
But one might add that a good star is always watching over him. And it is precisely on that woman that we want to dwell for a moment, in order to understand the feelings and the mission of 'freedom', not only with respect to the Assange case, but also in the fight for the freedom of 'a free press and opinion' at a global level, which is now seriously endangered.
Woman of Courage and Love
"Julian is different from anyone I have ever met".
Stella Moris
In an interview with the British Newspaper 'The Guardian' last October, Stella Moris decides to open her heart for the first time, recounting her intense love story with her Julian, whom she met when he was inside the Ecuadorian embassy. As well as being undoubtedly the man of her life, Julian is first and foremost, for Stella, her best friend, and not so long ago, also the father of her two beautiful sons, Max and Gabriel. (2 and 4 years old respectively)
Without putting any brakes on the spontaneously initiated conversation, journalist Simon Hattenstone goes straight to the question about their relationship that started between the surveillance cameras inside the embassy, asking: "How difficult was it to conduct a relationship in the embassy?"
Stella laughs sharply but is nonetheless happy ('like a kettle whistling', Hattenstone's comment) as she recounts the early days of her and Julian's growing intimacy, which was kept secret from the whole world for six years and from which two children were born.
As in a spy film, the story includes the many tricks and subterfuges to manage to live their love story as freely as possible, but always under the omnipresent cameras. The idea of setting up a tent for privacy and escape or of "communicating only on paper" the feelings and important news of Stella's pregnancy are in fact some of the "courageous" examples of a woman who has now become more of an activist than a lawyer and who is totally in love with her man.
It is a love full of courage, loyalty and tenacity that emerges from the interview with Hattenstone in 'The Guardian', which should be better understood and respected, instead of being often ridiculed, as happens in these cases, where Julian Assange's personality is perceived only in consideration of the mere and pure descriptive egocentrism, between Rock Star and information thief, far removed from the anti-conventional journalism he has long represented, not to mention his close and fruitful cooperation with some of the major newspapers, such as the World Wide News:
The Guardian, The New York Times, Der Spiegel, El Pais and Le Monde.
Finally, a further indication of the whole interview concerning Julian Assange himself should be noted:
"Of the delineation of a different Julian who is highly caring and responsible towards his two children, and that Stella herself likes to underline the fact when she says: "to know that he will be a good father to them and that he is already a good father."
Stella's Mission
"The objective is justice, the method is transparency. It is important not to confuse the objective with the method."
Julian Assange
In the apparently fragile image of someone like Stella, who tells her story to 'The Guardian' in whispers and very long pauses before answering questions about her private life, one can instead perceive the full determination and incisiveness of her character, communicating a crystal-clear language of confident certainty in the rightness of her cause.
Thus, in addition to the woman who is eager to reunite her family soon in every possible way, there is a true fighter, who fights tirelessly both for the freedom of her Julian and for the freedom of press and opinion, which is in serious danger for all humanity, today.
In the three-day conference on Lake Geneva this summer and broadcast on the public TV program 'Presa diretta' on 30 August, Stella Moris was very emotional and at the same time determined to stress the importance of justice and the role that prison represents, using very strong words in this regard:
"Julian has not seen his children since October. Since the prison was closed for Covid. I don't tell the children that their father is in prison, because when I teach them what a prison is, I tell them it's a place where criminals go; bad people who do bad things, not good men who did good things....
...He's in a moveable cell and he's been there for two and a half years and now we've come to the point where there are only two paths. Either Julian regains his freedom or he dies. And if he dies, it's not because he committed suicide, but because they killed him."
Stella Moris
Stella's mission is therefore clear: to save her Julian from being extradited to the United States, which, let's be clear, goes far beyond the condition of saving a single man.
It is in fact a broader vision, or if you want, an epic battle never faced before, in which it is fundamental NOT to create any jurisdictional precedent and above all no consequent deterrent for the following ones: the ultimate aim is in fact to keep alive the freedom of the press to inform, for the defense of the public opinion and the free citizens to know in a society always democratically modern.
On the other hand, the US, using the 1917 Espionage Act, indicted Assange, with the main purpose of believing that such information may have created damage to the US itself or benefited any other foreign nation. The acquisition of sensitive secret information relating to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and its subsequent publication on Wikileaks in collaboration with major international newspapers is the culmination of the US indictment.
For a better understanding of what is going on, we suggest reading an extraordinarily courageous and representative book on the Assange affair, entitled "Il potere segreto" (The Secret Power) and written by the expert on the subject, Stefania Maurizi.
As well as being an excellent piece of investigative journalism on the subject, the book has at least three very interesting elements for discussion:
An analysis of the author's search for the truth and the incredible legal battle to free the founder of Wikileaks;
Understanding the behavior of two major democracies such as the US and the UK in the context of this delicate investigation;
To ask and analyze why no one before Assange has been so deeply and harshly attacked for the information he has released to the world.
For Whom the Bell Tolls
"A free press can be good or bad, but without freedom, the press can never be anything but bad."
Albert Camus
As in Ernest Hemingway's great and compelling bestseller 'For Whom the Bell Tolls', (that I really invite you to read, if you have not already done so) there are certain stages present in the modern story of Stella and the independent journalist Julian Assange that seem to repeat themselves, in somewhat similarly disconcerting ways.
The two modern protagonists, while whirling through the excitement of a true and deep passion, find themselves in the midst of an endless and impetuous media and jurisdictional war, from which they can in no way escape. The certain circumstances that the famous novel (which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940) unwittingly retraces and emphasizes are thus brought to life in the modern-day story of Stella and Julian in the following moments:
The love story of the two protagonists. In the uncertainty of the future, a great love story is born between Robert (l'Ingles) and Maria, similar to the modern one. In both cases, there are desires, tenderness and hopes for a future together, and as in the bestseller, although they suffer greatly because of the countless risks and difficulties they encounter, they love each other as if there were no tomorrow.
War and resistance. While the novel takes place in Spain, during the Second World War, between Franco's Franchists and the Marxist-inspired partisans, the grueling media warfare that Stella and especially Julian have to endure to this day is no less; it is comparable to an equal, never-ending battle, in which one can only resist and also find new terms of action to avert the worst, and never surrender.
Courage, danger and sacrifice. Carrying out the final mission, the search for truth and freedom, fits in exactly with the novel's sense of mission. Even if the historical settings are totally different, the same drama of today's events and the perennial presence of death and sacrifice of the Ingles is relived, as it is for Assange. But it is love itself that pushes towards the final cause, that gives courage (as well as for Stella), to carry on her epic battle of love, justice and freedom to finally save Julian Assange.
The significance of the Assange case
"Today is but one day of all the days to come, but what you do on all the days to come depends on what you do today. It has been so many times.
Ernest Hemingway
In the last few days, the official news (the decision arrived on International Human Rights Day) that the British court has overturned the initial verdict: that is, it has put down on paper the factual intentions for a concrete extradition of Assange to the USA, taking the case to another level. In short, Assange will have to stand trial on the 18 charges against him, with the possibility of a final sentence of 175 years imprisonment.
The big battle has therefore begun and we are now officially entering the most acute phase of a seemingly never-ending odyssey. But Stella is already ready for an appeal against this last sentence, with words that leave no doubt about her extraordinary determination and remarkable sense of justice, inherent in her DNA as an excellent lawyer, as well as a woman in love, who certainly does not intend to give up now.
(Statement in 'The Evening Standard')
And Stella is certainly not alone; in fact, in addition to the Birnberg Peirce defense team that accompanies her in this epic battle for violated rights and freedoms, there are a myriad of humanitarian associations that follow and fight together with her, so that Assange is freed as soon as possible.
Among them, we mention Amnesty International, which has described the sentence as a 'travesty of justice' and that the US assurances are 'deeply flawed'. Moreover, it should not be forgotten that Julian Assange's current precarious state of health is also worsening as a result of the recent stroke in Belmarsch prison during the first day of his High Court appeal hearing in October, worrying both his family and public opinion considerably.
With the latest dramatic updates, a race against time has already begun through the www.crowdjustice.com fundraising campaign, which is trying to reach the sum of £200,000 pounds in the next five day, in order to take the next step in the legal process in Assange's defense. (at the moment, over £181,900 has been already raised).
In the meantime, also in Italy, Rifondazione Comunista, Italiani per Assange, Giuristi democratici and the parliamentary group L'Alternativa c'è, have taken to the streets to demand the journalist's release and to launch a heartfelt appeal to President Mattarella so that he can talk to the American President to obtain a pardon.
It is therefore clear that at this point in this interminable chess game, Assange's freedom, and as Stella Moris often points out, is worth much, much more.
In fact, it concerns all of us.
We have briefly recounted Stella's story, in its most topical moments, in order to open a window to a fundamental case, which, as we have reiterated, does not only concern the indicted Assange, but the very freedom of journalists, intellectuals and/or ordinary citizens, who would like freedom of opinion and of the press never to be undermined:
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion, which concerns all individuals (the right guaranteed in paragraph 1 corresponds to that guaranteed in Article 9 of the ECHR and, pursuant to Article 52(3) of the Charter, has the same meaning and scope as that article)
To the Recognition of the human dignity of everyone, as a core value of a democratic, just and inclusive society. (The dignity of the human person is not only a fundamental right in itself, but constitutes the very basis of fundamental rights, as set out in the preamble to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and pursuant to Article 3 of The Constitution of the Italian Republic.
In conclusion, the strong-willed and passionate Stella, along with the many other women who have deservedly represented the course of humanity, with their infinite courage and unremitting struggle towards the ultimate goal of freedom and justice, is yet another example of exhortation: to never let our guard down in the face of present obstacles, while at the same time creating a stimulus for different points of view to emerge in people, equally valid with respect to the one unquestioned truth.
Finally, coming back to the initial question we have post at the beginning:
"If is it comes first the cause / purpose that pursues love or if is it the contrary ".
Regarding the extraordinary love story between Stella and Julian, we discover and could confirm that "is the real LOVE the tool and at the same time the most powerful aim, able to move the world and connect everything to it."
Every sacrifice and individual choice, if conscious and oriented to the deepest love, has therefore already reached the predestined goal and therefore the final victory. Stella of the third millennium understands this passage exactly: never stop fighting and pursuing your own cause, especially when you know that you have the most powerful weapon at your disposal, namely love, which belongs to you. And that belongs to us. Yes, because while Stella is fighting her battle today, she is also doing it for ours: for the freedom of every single individual.
So thanks you to Stella, for your genuine valor, courage, which is the real essence of a high and FREE spirit. As well as Julian Assange. You are both indeed two really good stars for all the mankind.
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