Court
Assange may not be extradited to the USA immediately
Julian Assange has been in the high-security Belmarsh prison in London for almost five years (archive photo). photo
© Frank Augstein/AP/dpa
Assange’s wife Stella had expressed fears that the Wikileaks founder could be immediately put on a plane to the USA if the appeal was rejected.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has appealed against the threat of extradition to the USA received another reprieve. The London High Court ruled that he should not be extradited immediately. Accordingly, the Australian’s application for an appeal could still be granted.
As the judges explained, the appeal was rejected on six out of nine points. On three other points it depends on whether the US government and the British Home Secretary can provide appropriate guarantees. The judges set a deadline of three weeks for this.
Further hearing on May 20th
A final decision is expected to be made based on a further hearing on May 20. The question is whether Assange can invoke the right to freedom of expression during a trial in the USA and whether he enjoys the same rights as US citizens, whether he is not prejudged because of his citizenship and whether the death penalty will not be imposed.
The verdict on Tuesday, after a two-day hearing, was eagerly awaited. Assange’s wife Stella had expressed fears that if his appeal was rejected, he could immediately be put on a plane to the USA.
There is a risk of 175 years in prison
The US government wants to put the Australian on trial on espionage charges. He faces up to 175 years in prison. The US government accuses him of stealing and publishing secret material from military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with whistleblower Chelsea Manning, thereby endangering the lives of US informants. Assange’s supporters, however, see him as a journalist who has been targeted by the Washington judiciary for exposing US war crimes.
Assange has been in London’s Belmarsh maximum security prison for almost five years. Before his arrest in April 2019, he had evaded law enforcement authorities for several years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. They initially targeted him because of rape allegations in Sweden. However, these allegations were later dropped due to lack of evidence.