In the last resort to save the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
involved in the espionage case, Pamela Anderson has asked for a presidential
pardon for his friend, New York Post reported.

Anderson believed that the US is endangering the most basic principle
of democracy by accusing Assange of leaking classified information related to
Iraq and Afghanistan wars. This comes when Britain will be ruling on Monday on whether
to extradite Assange to Washington to face federal charges.

“The case is simply a criminalization of a
free press,” Anderson told New York Post. “Julian is being charged with journalism.
Documents that have exposed war crimes and human rights abuses. Now the US
wants to punish him for exposing crimes,” she said.

Assange, 49, stood his ground that his prosecution was a
contradiction to the First Amendment.

“If this extradition is successful, it will mean that no
journalist is safe from prosecution,” said Anderson, who also is an AIDS and
animal-rights activist. “This will set a precedent where any US journalist
can be charged and sent to any country that requests their extradition. … And
don’t think ‘it won’t happen to me,’ because it absolutely could, and countries
will use it to silence whatever they don’t like the sound of,” Anderson said.

Also Read | Julian Assange case: Germany urges UK to consider “human rights” during extradition hearing

However, legal experts said that even if Assange is extradited,
it doesn’t necessarily imply that he would be freed. He could still be
prosecuted by Britain under its Official Secrets Act.

Assange is facing 18 criminal charges tied to leaking of
thousands of secret papers handed over by already convicted ex-Army
intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.