The WSWS continues to receive statements in defence of Dr David Berger and in opposition to the censorship of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) Australia’s Twitter page. @SEP_Australia was locked out on July 21 over a video in defence of Dr Berger and free speech. This blatantly political attack must be opposed by the broadest layers of workers, young people and professionals.

Dr Berger is an Australian physician and dedicated advocate for the elimination of COVID-19. He has been ordered by the Australia Health Practitioners Regulatory Authority (AHPRA) to undertake a special “education program” or be deregistered over his social media criticism of governments’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the publication of our first article on July 8, which calls on scientists, health workers and other sections of workers to speak out in defence of Dr Berger, the WSWS has published eleven articles compiling statements of support.

We urge readers to write to @TwitterSupport on Twitter and demand an immediate reversal of the lock, and to continue to speak out in Dr Berger’s defence. Statements of support can be emailed here. Please indicate in the email how you would like to be identified in our next article, and if you want to include a photo, please attach one to the email.

Amanda, a Melbourne teacher:

I strongly oppose the attacks on Dr Berger who has, from the beginning, stood up for measures to prevent misinformation and against mass sickness and death during the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to rage across the world.

I am encouraged by the people calling out the anti-democratic action of AHPRA, which is silencing Dr Berger and his supporters such as the SEP in Australia. It’s extremely telling that Twitter has banned the SEP for calling this out, an action that should be understood and condemned by all.

This ban must be lifted immediately, along with all other forms of censorship, including that of Dr Berger. We must stand together in his defence, for freedom of speech and for the right to true information about COVID, as opposed to the deliberate and dangerous misinformation provided by governments around the world pushing a “let-it-rip,” “let’s pretend it’s over” policy which only serves the interest of big-business at the expense of the most vulnerable.

Connections can and should be made about his silencing and that of Julian Assange. Both men courageously spoke out against governments and provided the public with information that was true and necessary. Through the persecution of Assange, our democratic rights are also taken away, including the right to freedom of speech and the public’s right to information.

The fact that nobody has been held to account for the war crimes that Assange exposed, while he rots in jail, tortured and threatened with extradition to the US that will ultimately lead to his death, is a wake-up call for all workers.

I applaud Dr Berger and thank him for his unwavering commitment to sharing his vast medical knowledge. For helping people, like me, to understand the virus and its mitigations so that we can take control of our situation. I attribute to the fact that I have yet to experience COVID on being able to follow his advice.

This is especially important as I am a teacher and therefore, exposed to COVID on a daily basis. This is thanks to the lack of mitigations in schools and the fact that children cannot appropriately distance or take “personal responsibility.” Having worked remotely on and off for two years, classrooms are now major transmitters of the disease.

Thanks to Dr Berger’s advice, my classroom is ventilated, we take outside breaks, eat outside and always have windows and doors open. I monitor CO2 levels and go outside if they rise above safe levels. I wear a well-fitted, P2 or N95 mask all day and, where I can, I encourage my students to wear masks.

As a result, we have had no known transmissions in my classroom this year or last, a very different situation to the majority of my colleagues. With students in packed classrooms without remote options, these mitigations need to be more widely known and understood. Dr Berger is a great advocate for this.

Keith, a school security guard in Queensland:

I’m definitely opposed to censorship at all levels. The doctor, as a licensed medical professional, has the right, as anyone does, to go against the system. It’s as if when you name names of those responsible for the pandemic you get into trouble.

“There is more and more censorship now across the board. We can’t talk about anything, like the Russian aspect to the Ukraine war. Twitter might start with an algorithm but then someone takes a look at it. The SEP video must have hit several “hot topics.” Then Twitter gave a fraudulent excuse about invading privacy!

The SEP account must be restored. The video must be shown. Twitter was probably waiting for something like this to happen, to move against the SEP. [Prime Minister] Albanese and [Foreign Minister] Wong might have sounded a sympathetic tone on Julian Assange, but they are happy to fly to any hotspot to assist Washington, not to defend Assange.

Jenny, a retired worker from Queensland:

The persecution of Dr David Berger is an absolute travesty. I’ve watched his interviews and read his statements. He is among those in the medical fraternity who are not afraid to speak out against the “let it rip” policies which continue to kill and maim millions around the world.

Nothing he has said is untrue. From the outset, epidemiologists, virologists and GPs have urged governments to keep mandates in place to prevent great losses of preventable deaths. Those voices have been systematically dropped from mainstream media outlets leaving only the internet.

Dr Berger has been courageous and intransigent, and deserves great support for his principled stand, not persecution by his governing body. How dare they say he needs to be ‘re-educated’. This method sounds more like a Stalinist technique than so-called Western democracy. It makes you wonder what they mean by re-education; do they want him to learn how to lie about Covid? The fact that Twitter felt compelled to freeze the Australian SEP account because it posted a video showing four people who’ve been persecuted for daring to speak the truth is very disturbing.