 For more videos and people's struggles, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. The first week of Julian Assange's extradition hearings in London came to a halt on Thursday, September 10th, after a COVID-19 scare. The proceedings will now resume from Monday, September 14th. Shortly before this phase of the trial began on September 7th, the previous extradition request was withdrawn and a fresh indictment was issued by the U.S. in August. Judge Vanessa Baritzer confirmed that Assange now stands trial for the new extradition request. Assange did not get the opportunity to review these new submissions against him. Assange's defense made a request to either remove these submissions or adjourn the trial until January so that Assange can review these additions. But this was denied by the judge. The judge also excluded over 40 applicants for remote access to the trial without any reasons. This includes WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristin Harafson, journalist John Pilger, Amnesty International and dozens of civil society and political monitors. The prosecution has been stating that Assange is only being tried for those leaked documents which named intelligence officials. This view was not shared by the witnesses, castifying in defense of Assange. Clive Stafford Smith, founder of Reprieve, stated that during a potential trial in the U.S., all documents could be used against Assange. The witnesses also sought to bring out the political nature of his indictment. International security expert Paul Rogers pointed out that a large number of federal officials in the U.S. are political appointees, including those in the U.S. Department of Justice, that is currently pursuing the case. The publication of leaked documents also altered the predominant narratives of U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The expert witnesses also pointed the thread to press freedom posed by this case. Trevor Tim, co-founder of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, stated how the prosecution of Assange could lead to prosecution of other journalists and publishers. He said while WikiLeaks may not have had a sound editorial judgment, it was not for the government to advise media houses on editorial judgments. In the expanded indictment charges, Assange is accused of encouraging Chelsea Manning to share classified documents. Critics have dismissed this charge as this is a common media practice. This is the first time that the Espionage Act is being used against a publisher. Several U.S. administrations have threatened to prosecute journalists for publishing classified information in the past, but never did it. The fact that President Donald Trump's administration is the first to do so is indicative of his strained relationship with the media. His administration has declared the press to be their enemies since the beginning. Several voices of support came together in support of Assange. Reporters without borders tried to submit a petition signed by more than 80,000 activists and groups to the British government to dismiss the U.S. extradition request. But the Prime Minister's office turned them away. Demonstrations were held in several cities across the world in support of Assange. Iconic musician Roger Waters declared that he too had shown the collateral murder video. He said, if Julian is guilty, so am I. Julian is the contemporary equivalent of the head on a pipe as a warning to others. Ex-Brazilian President Louis Nassio Lula de Silva also defended Assange's innocence. He said, Assange should have been treated like a hero for having denounced to the world the lives of the U.S. State Department, investigating the world, investigating the government. All of the democratic countries should cry for his freedom.