The legal tug of war over Assange and his extradition to the USA has been going on for years. The USA wants to put him on trial for publishing secret documents. He faces life imprisonment. A chronology of events.
2010
From July to October, the disclosure platform WikiLeaks published around 470,000 classified documents that have to do with US diplomatic activities and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Another 250,000 documents will be added later. The documents contain explosive information about US operations in these countries, including the killing of civilians and the mistreatment of prisoners.
In November, the Swedish public prosecutor’s office obtained an international arrest warrant against Assange. He is accused of sexual offenses. Assange denies the accusation and shortly afterwards turns himself in to the police in London. He is released on bail pending a decision on Sweden’s extradition request.
2011
In February, a British court approved Sweden’s extradition request. Assange expresses concern: He fears that Sweden could extradite him to the USA.
2012
Assange fled to the Ecuadorian embassy in London in June and successfully applied for political asylum.
2016
Before the US presidential election, WikiLeaks published around 20,000 emails from the Democratic party apparatus. They come from the campaign team of candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who ultimately lost the election to Republican Donald Trump.
2017
The public prosecutor in Sweden closes the investigation against Assange.
2018
Ecuador says it is looking for a mediator to end Assange’s “untenable” situation. In March, embassy staff cut off Assange’s communications access. A document appears in the USA according to which charges were apparently secretly brought against Assange.
2019
Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno says Assange has “repeatedly violated” the conditions of his embassy asylum. After seven years in the embassy, British police arrested Assange in April after his asylum had been revoked. In May, the Australian was sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching bail conditions. At the end of May, the US justice system intensified its charges against Assange. The WikiLeaks founder is now also accused of violating anti-espionage laws. If convicted, he faces up to 175 years in prison.
2020
The main hearing in the extradition proceedings against Assange begins in London at the end of February. In April it was revealed that the WikiLeaks founder became a father twice while he was in asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy. This is revealed by the mother of the two little boys, Stella Moris. She was a member of Assange’s legal team.
The extradition process, which was interrupted due to the corona pandemic, will continue at the beginning of September. A psychiatrist certifies that Assange is at risk of suicide in court. The Australian is highly depressed and has hallucinations.
2021
The responsible London court decided on January 4th that Assange may not be extradited to the USA. Because of the strict prison conditions in the United States, there is a “significant” risk that Assange could take his own life in prison. The US government is appealing.
In December, the High Court in London ruled in favor of the US side and lifted the extradition ban. Shortly afterwards, Assange’s fiancée Moris announced that the WikiLeaks founder had suffered a mild stroke at the end of October.
2022
Assange goes to the Supreme Court in London in January. However, on March 14, the Supreme Court decided not to hear the Australian’s appeal against his extradition.
Assange and Moris are getting married on March 23rd. They exchange vows in Belmarsh maximum security prison in south London.
On April 20, Westminster Magistrates Court finally made an extradition order. On June 17, Home Secretary Priti Patel signed the extradition order. Assange filed an appeal against this at the beginning of July.
2024
In February 2024, there will be two days of hearings at the High Court in London about whether Assange should be granted a new objection to his extradition. A decision is postponed. The court is demanding guarantees from the USA that Assange will be protected by freedom of expression laws if he is tried in the USA and that he will not face the death penalty.
In April, US President Joe Biden said the US was considering an Australian request to end the prosecution of Assange.
On May 20, judges at London’s High Court ruled that the guarantees were insufficient and allowed Assange to appeal again.
(afp)