Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, received approval from the High Court in London on Tuesday to advance his challenge against extradition to the United States on espionage charges to a subsequent hearing. The court determined that Assange could proceed with his appeal at a comprehensive hearing, provided the U.S. offers “satisfactory assurances” regarding his First Amendment rights and the potential for facing the death penalty. The ruling emphasized that Assange’s trial or sentencing should not suffer due to his nationality.
For over a decade, Assange has battled extradition, spending seven years in self-imposed exile at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and the last five years in Belmarsh Prison, a high-security facility on the outskirts of London. U.S. prosecutors accuse Assange of endangering lives by assisting U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in the theft of diplomatic cables and military files, which WikiLeaks published nearly 15 years ago. He faces 17 espionage charges and one computer misuse charge related to the publication of these classified documents.
James Lewis, representing the U.S., argued in written submissions that Assange’s actions “threatened damage to the strategic and national security interests of the United States” and endangered individuals named in the documents, including Iraqis and Afghans who had assisted U.S. forces, exposing them to “serious physical harm.”
Assange’s legal team contends that his actions were part of standard journalistic practices involving the acquisition and publication of classified information, arguing that the prosecution is a politically motivated response to WikiLeaks’ revelations of U.S. government misconduct. WikiLeaks gained significant attention in 2010 when it released a classified video, provided by Manning, showcasing a U.S. military helicopter engaging civilians, including two Reuters journalists, in Baghdad, resulting in over ten fatalities.
Manning was convicted of espionage and other charges in 2013 for leaking secret military files to WikiLeaks and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. However, her sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama in 2017, leading to her release.
Assange’s legal representatives have stated that he could face up to 175 years in prison if convicted, although U.S. authorities have suggested that the actual sentence would likely be much shorter. Stella Assange, Julian’s wife, whom he married in prison in 2022, expressed concerns last month about her husband’s deteriorating health due to prolonged confinement, stating, “If he’s extradited, he will die,” during a gathering outside London’s Royal Courts of Justice.
Assange’s legal difficulties began in 2010 when he was arrested in London following a request from Sweden, which sought to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women. After seeking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition, Assange found himself effectively confined within the building. His asylum ended in April 2019 when he was evicted and immediately arrested by British police for breaching bail conditions in 2012. Although Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in 2019 due to the passage of time, Assange has remained in British custody, initially for breaking bail conditions and subsequently for pending extradition hearings.
Despite a British district court judge ruling against the extradition request in 2021 due to a “real and oppressive” risk of suicide, U.S. authorities successfully appealed the following year after providing assurances regarding Assange’s treatment if extradited, including the possibility of serving his sentence in his home country of Australia. Last month, the Australian parliament called for Assange to be allowed to return to Australia, with officials lobbying the U.S. to halt extradition efforts or find a diplomatic solution that would permit his return. Australian authorities have expressed that the case has been prolonged for too long and continue to seek a resolution that would allow Assange’s return to Australia.