LONDON (AP) – The British government has ordered the extradition to the United States of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, on espionage charges. This is likely to appeal.
Interior Minister Pretty Patel signed the extradition order on Friday, her department said. This follows a British court decision in April that Assange could be sent to the United States
The Home Office said in a statement that “British courts have not ruled that Mr Assange’s extradition could be coercive, unfair or abusive.”
“They also did not find that the extradition was incompatible with his human rights, including a fair trial and freedom of expression, and that he would be treated appropriately while in the United States, including for his health.”
This decision is a milestone in Assange’s long years of struggle to avoid a lawsuit in the United States, even if it’s not the end of the story. Assange has 14 days to appeal.
A British judge approved the extradition in April and left the final decision to the government. The decision was made after a legal battle that went to the UK Supreme Court.
The United States has asked the British government to extradite Assange to appear in court on 17 counts of spying and a count of computer abuse for publishing a large collection of confidential WikiLeaks documents more than ten years ago. ago. U.S. prosecutors say Assange illegally assisted U.S. military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in stealing secret diplomatic documents and military files that were later leaked to WikiLeaks, threatening his life.
News organizations and human rights groups in Britain have asked to withdraw its extradition request.
Supporters and advocates of the 50-year-old Assange said he played the role of a journalist and had the right to defend his free speech in the First Amendment for the publication of documents exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. They argue that his case is politically motivated.
Assange’s lawyers say he could face up to 175 years in prison if he is tried in the United States, though U.S. officials say any sentence is likely to be less.
Assange has been in Belmarsh prison in London since 2019, when he was arrested in a separate trial for lack of bail. She had previously spent seven years at the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden on charges of rape and sexual assault.
Sweden stopped investigating sex crimes in November 2019 because it had been so long.
Source: Huffpost
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.