Taking a stand in Berlin’s Alexanderplatz are whistleblowers Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange and Edward Snowden. The life-size bronze statues were unveiled on Friday in front of members of the German Green Party as well as activists. All three figures are considered heroes on the political left for leaking US intelligence documents.
The artist behind the work Italian sculptor Davide Dormino explains that he wanted to “represent three contemporary heroes who have lost their freedom for the truth.” He says that they act as a reminder of “how important it is to know the truth and have the courage to know the truth.”
Entitled Anything to Say the sculpture encourages supporters to stand up for freedom of speech and information.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange faces extradition to Sweden to face investigation into accusations of rape and sexual assault, but fears he will be extradited to the US to face questions over his role in leaking secret US documents.He has taken asylum in Ecuador’s London Embassy.
US soldier Chelsea Manning (born Bradley Manning) was convicted in 2013 on charges relating to the Espionage Act for leaking US intelligence and military documents to Wikileaks. She is currently serving a 35 year prison sentence.
Edward Snowden is currently evading extradition to the US by taking asylum in Russia. He released classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) to journalists revealing the scale of the US government’s global surveillance capabilities.
Their statues will have fewer restrictions on their movements with a scheduled world tour.
This article was originally published in Euro News.
