Moment of truth?
Judgment expected on Assange’s appeal
Julian Assange has been in the high-security Belmarsh prison in London for almost five years (archive photo). photo
© Frank Augstein/AP/dpa
Julian Assange has been fighting his extradition to the USA in British courts for years. But now everything could happen very quickly.
In the years-long legal dispute over the extradition of the Wikileaks founder demanded by the USA Julian Assange is expected to receive a decisive verdict today. The London High Court wants to publish its written ruling on the question of whether Assange can appeal against an earlier decision. If the court rejects this, the legal process would be exhausted and the extradition decision would be legally binding. Assange’s only option would be to go to the European Court of Human Rights.
Assange faces up to 175 years in prison
The US government wants to put the Australian on trial on espionage charges. According to his supporters, he faces up to 175 years in prison. Washington accuses him of stealing and publishing secret material from US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with whistleblower Chelsea Manning, thereby endangering the lives of US informants. Assange, however, faces criminal prosecution for his journalistic activities. His supporters warn of a dangerous precedent that could have serious consequences for investigative journalism.
Both sides presented their arguments at a two-day hearing in February. Assange’s lawyers argued, among other things, that the Australian was being persecuted for political reasons and should therefore not be extradited. The US justice lawyers pointed out the negative consequences of the publication of many thousands of secret documents by Wikileaks.
Hundreds of people demonstrated in front of the courthouse for Assange’s immediate release. Journalists’ associations, human rights organizations and politicians also campaign for him. Last but not least, the Australian government is now pushing for an end to criminal prosecution.
Stella Assange: US police officers are already waiting
Assange and his supporters hope for a full appeal process. However, if the application is rejected, the 52-year-old will face immediate extradition, according to his wife. “As soon as there is a decision and if it goes against Julian, US police officers at a US base in the UK will put him on a US military plane and take him to the United States,” she said in a video message shared on social media the hearing. Although his team will immediately file an application for an interim injunction with the European Court of Human Rights, there are concerns that the British government could ignore such an order.
Stella Assange fears for his life 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 has already agreed to his extradition.
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.