Human rights
Assange has been in prison for five years – release demanded
Julian Assange faces up to 175 years in prison in the USA. photo
© Matt Dunham/AP/dpa
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in Great Britain five years ago. On the anniversary, supporters are calling for his release and warning of extradition to the USA.
The human rights organization Amnesty International has called for the release of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has been in prison in Great Britain for five years. “Julian Assange dared to bring to light revelations about alleged US war crimes. It is unacceptable that years of his life were stolen from him,” said Secretary General Agnès Callamard.
Assange was arrested exactly five years ago – on April 11, 2019 – after years of seeking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The US government wants to put him on trial on espionage charges. The 52-year-old faces up to 175 years in prison.
Washington accuses the Australian of having, together with whistleblower Chelsea Manning, stolen and published secret material from military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and many other secret documents, thereby endangering the lives of US informants. Assange is still hoping for an appeal in a British court to prevent his deportation.
Amnesty: Assange is at risk of serious ill-treatment in the USA
If Assange is extradited to the USA, he will face serious ill-treatment, including prolonged solitary confinement, Amnesty warned. Dubious US diplomatic assurances were not worth the paper they were written on because they were not legally binding and had loopholes. The organization warned of a catastrophic precedent for global media freedom. Amnesty demanded that the USA drop all allegations against Assange.
Australia has also been lobbying the USA for a long time not to pursue prosecution against Assange any further. US President Joe Biden has now indicated a willingness to talk. When asked whether the US government would comply with Australia’s request, Biden said on the sidelines of a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington, according to a reporter present: “We are considering it.” He did not provide any further information.