LONDON (AP) – A British judge formally approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States on Wednesday on espionage charges. The case has now been decided by the British Home Secretary, though the founder of WikiLeaks still has legal ways to appeal.
The order, which is approaching and ending a multi-year extradition case, came after the UK Supreme Court last month refused to give Assange permission to appeal the lower court’s decision on his extradition.
District Judge Paul Goldspring issued the order for a brief hearing in Westminster Magistrates’ Court when Assange saw a video link from Belmarsh Prison and his supporters gathered in front of the court and demanded his release.
Interior Minister Priti Patel is now deciding whether to grant extradition.
The move does not exhaust the legal options of Assange, who has for years been trying to avoid a lawsuit in the United States over allegations that WikiLeaks leaked a large stash of confidential documents for more than a decade. that is the past.
His lawyers have four weeks to apply for Patel, and they can also appeal to the Supreme Court.
Assange’s lawyer, Mark Summers, told the court the legal team had “serious arguments.”
The United States has asked British authorities to extradite Assange to face 17 spy counts and one count for computer misuse. 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.
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.
A British district court judge had earlier rejected a U.S. extradition request on the grounds that Assange could have committed suicide if he had remained in U.S. custody. Later, U.S. authorities ensured that the founder of WikiLeaks would not experience the cruel treatment that his lawyers said would put his physical and mental health at risk.
In December, the Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision, saying U.S. promises were enough to treat Assange to humanity. The Supreme Court in March rejected Assange’s attempt to challenge the decision.
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 said the sentence is likely to be lower.
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.
Assange and his partner Stella Morris were married in a prison ceremony last month.
Source: Huffpost
