The extradition of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, from Britain to the United States has been temporarily halted by London’s High Court. The decision was made after two senior judges provisionally allowed Assange to appeal against his extradition on three grounds. The judges ruled that he could launch a full appeal against extradition only if the US failed to provide “satisfactory assurances” that Assange would not face the death penalty. The US is seeking to try Assange on 18 charges, all but one under the Espionage Act, related to the release of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks.
Assange’s lawyers had argued that the case was politically motivated and that he would not receive a fair trial. However, the judges dismissed these claims. They also rejected Assange’s accusation that CIA officials had planned to kidnap or murder him, stating that it could not be considered in any appeal. They did, however, permit Assange to appeal on the grounds that he might not be entitled to rely on the First Amendment right to free speech as a non-US national, and that he could later face a capital offense such as treason, meaning it would be unlawful to extradite him.
Assange’s supporters hail him as an anti-establishment hero who is being persecuted for exposing U.S. wrongdoing and alleged war crimes. The U.S. authorities, however, claim that Assange is not being prosecuted for the publication of the leaked materials, but for the criminal act of conspiring with former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to obtain them legally.
Assange’s extradition had been approved by Britain last year, but his lawyers launched a final attempt in the English courts in February to challenge that decision. A further hearing has now been scheduled for May 20, with his extradition put on hold. If the High Court upholds the extradition decision, Assange’s final challenge will rest with an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to block it.
Assange has now spent more than 13 years battling various legal cases in Britain, spending seven of these holed up inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London after skipping bail and the last five in a maximum security jail. His brother, Gabriel Shipton, has expressed concerns over his “rapidly deteriorating physical and mental health.”
The ruling has been met with mixed reactions, with Assange’s wife Stella calling it “utterly bizarre” and expressing fears that Assange remains at risk of extradition and the death penalty. While Assange’s lawyer Jen Robinson said that US assurances “aren’t worth the paper they’re written on,” Nick Vamos, the former head of extradition at Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service, said it should be straightforward for the US to provide the guarantees.
