Julian, founder of WikiLeaks Assange faces a growing number of options after the UK government’s approval Extradition to the United States on Friday. The decision is the latest chapter in a protracted legal battle that began when former military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning leaked classified government documents about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, to which Assange. published on WikiLeaks in 2010.
Friday’s decision, adopted by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, is the latest in a series of decisions. Assange’s legal battle has been lost in his attempt to stay in the UK. It is a blow to Assange, who has spent the past decade hiding in Ecuador’s London embassy or in a UK prison. And his growing potential for prosecution in US courts creates a precarious times for First Amendment rights and the ability of news outlets to publish material deemed a threat to national security.
“This is a dark day for press freedom and for British democracy,” WikiLeaks said in a statement statement shared on Twitter. “Julian did nothing wrong. He is not guilty and is not a criminal. He is a journalist and a publisher”. Wikileaks said Assange intends to appeal.
“Assange may have at least one more appeal route, so he may not have flown to the United States yet,” Trevor Timm, executive director of the Freedom of Press group, said in a statement. statement. “But this is a more disturbing development in a case that could disqualify journalists in the 21st century.” The accuse Assange consists of 17 under the Espionage Act and one under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Friday’s ruling overturned a December 2021 decision that said Assange could not be extradited because sending him to prison in the United States could increase the risk. Suicide. The judge accepted the United States guarantee that Assange will not face solitary confinement and will receive psychological treatment.
A Home Office spokesman told WIRED: “The UK courts did not find that the extradition of Mr Assange was oppressive, unjust or an abuse of process. “Nor do they see that extradition would be inconsistent with his human rights, including his right to a fair trial and his right to free speech, and that while in the US he would be treated appropriately. , even in regards to his health.”
According to the Home Office, Assange’s legal team has 14 days to appeal. His next step, now that the defense’s argument based on Assange’s suicide risk has been dismissed, will likely focus on other arguments his team has made against extradition, such as the threat it poses to press freedom and political prejudice against Assange from US Law Enforcement, argues that Assange has been a thorn in the side of United States law enforcement agencies for more than a decade.
“I think there are a lot of roads to run here,” said Naomi Colvin, UK/Ireland director at advocacy group Blueprint for Free Speech. She pointed out that even if these additional arguments do not shake the UK justice system, Assange could appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, arguing that extradition would violate the UK’s commitment to human rights treaties. Alternatively, Assange’s team could request a judicial review that would challenge the specific political side of Patel’s decision, Colvin added.
