In a landmark decision on Tuesday, a British court has determined that Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, cannot be extradited to the United States on espionage charges for the time being. This development marks a significant, albeit partial, victory for Assange in his lengthy legal struggle concerning the release of classified US documents through his website.
The court’s ruling hinges on the requirement for US authorities to provide additional assurances within a three-week timeframe regarding Assange’s treatment. Until such assurances are received, the legal proceedings, which have spanned over a decade, will persist. Consequently, Assange will continue to be held at London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison, where he has already spent five years.
Judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson have stated that, in the absence of these assurances from the US, they will allow Assange to appeal the extradition on several grounds. These include potential violations of freedom of expression and the risk of facing the death penalty.
The judges have offered the US an opportunity to submit further assurances, with a hearing scheduled for May 20 should these be provided. This decision underscores the complex legal and ethical issues surrounding Assange’s case.
Supporters of Assange argue that he is a journalist who is protected by the First Amendment. They contend that his actions were in the public interest, exposing wrongdoing by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also believe that the prosecution against him is politically motivated and that he would not receive a fair trial in the US.
Stella Assange, Julian’s wife, has publicly stated that her husband is being persecuted for revealing the true human cost of war. She has called on the Biden administration to drop the case, which she describes as “shameful.”
During a two-day hearing in the High Court in February, Assange’s legal team argued that the US was seeking to punish him for WikiLeaks’ disclosure of government criminality on an unprecedented scale. The US government, however, maintains that Assange’s actions went beyond journalism, accusing him of soliciting, stealing, and indiscriminately publishing classified documents that endangered lives.
Although the judges dismissed six of Assange’s nine grounds for appeal, they agreed to consider appeals based on freedom of speech, the disadvantage Assange faces as a non-US citizen, and the risk of the death penalty. Despite US assurances that Assange would not face capital punishment, the judges noted that these assurances do not explicitly rule out the death penalty.
Julian Assange, a 52-year-old Australian computer expert, faces 17 counts of espionage and one count of computer misuse in the US, related to WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of classified documents. While his lawyers suggest he could face up to 175 years in prison if convicted, US authorities have indicated that any sentence would likely be much lower.
Assange’s physical and mental health have reportedly deteriorated over more than a decade of legal battles, including seven years of self-imposed exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and five years in high-security imprisonment.
Assange’s legal troubles began in 2010, following his arrest in London at Sweden’s request for questioning about allegations of rape and sexual assault. After seeking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in 2012 and eventually being evicted in 2019, British police arrested him for breaching bail. Sweden dropped its investigation into the sex crimes allegations in November 2019 due to the passage of time.
In 2021, a UK district court judge initially rejected the US extradition request, citing the risk of Assange’s potential suicide under harsh US prison conditions. However, higher courts overturned this decision after receiving assurances from the US regarding his treatment, leading to the British government signing an extradition order in June 2022.