Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is allowed to appeal against his threatened extradition to the USA. The London High Court partially granted the Australian native’s appeal on Monday. An immediate transfer of the 52-year-old to the USA has initially been averted.
With the court ruling, Assange remains in prison, but he is allowed to present his arguments against the extradition decision of the then British Home Secretary in June 2022 in detail in court.
Assange’s lawyers had previously convinced the judges in a hearing that lasted almost two hours that the Australian would be allowed to present his arguments in a full appeal process. The main issue was whether Assange, as a foreign citizen, could invoke the right to freedom of expression in the USA. The judges initially postponed the decision at the end of March and demanded assurances from the USA. However, these initially did not convince the court.
Assange’s wife Stella fears for his life if he is extradited because of the expected harsh prison conditions in the USA and her husband’s unstable psyche. The risk of suicide was also the reason why a judge initially rejected extradition. But the decision was later overturned. The British government agreed to his extradition.
Because of the revelation of the Wikileaks platform he founded, the US government wants to put Assange on trial on espionage charges. According to his supporters, he faces up to 175 years in prison. Washington accuses him of having, together with whistleblower Chelsea Manning, stolen and published secret material from US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, thereby endangering the lives of US informants.
Assange’s supporters, on the other hand, see the prosecution as a retaliatory action by Washington because the publications uncovered alleged war crimes.
In addition to the appeal process that is now pending, Assange’s supporters are likely to place their hopes primarily on a political solution. The Australian government is now campaigning for the release of its citizen. The Australian Parliament recently passed a resolution calling on the US and UK to stop prosecuting Assange. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized that the matter had been dragging on for too long.
US President Joe Biden recently gave Assange supporters some hope. When asked whether Australia’s demand for an end to criminal prosecution would be examined, he said: “We are considering it.” Albanese called the statement “encouraging.”
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. He is now in prison without a conviction. Numerous human rights organizations, journalists’ associations, artists and politicians are calling for Assange’s immediate release.