https://sputnikglobe.com/20231220/it-wont-be-pretty-julian-assange-files-final-appeal-as-he-faces-possible-extradition-to-us-1115692799.html
‘It Won’t Be Pretty’: Julian Assange Files Final Appeal as He Faces Possible Extradition to US
‘It Won’t Be Pretty’: Julian Assange Files Final Appeal as He Faces Possible Extradition to US
Sputnik International
On Tuesday, it was announced by Julian Assange’s wife, Stella Moris-Assange, that he would file his last appeal in order to avoid extradition to the US.
2023-12-20T04:27+0000
2023-12-20T04:27+0000
2023-12-20T18:14+0000
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On Tuesday, it was announced by Julian Assange’s wife, Stella Moris-Assange, that he would file his last appeal in order to avoid extradition to the US. The public hearing will take place on February 20 and February 21 in the High Court of London. Assange could face a sentence of up to 175 years for exposing war crimes committed by the US military in the Afghan and Iraq wars.Brad Birkenfeld, a famed financial whistleblower who exposed international money laundering and income tax evasion in the Swiss bank industry—spoke with Sputnik’s Political Misfits and shared his thoughts on Assange and his potential extradition.“And that's what he did,” said Birkenfeld, in reference to the nearly 500,000 documents leaked in the early 2010s by WikiLeaks—some of which exposed US war crimes. “So don't take it out on Julian Assange - take it out on the people who are breaking the law to begin with. And certainly nothing has happened to those folks in the military that we know of. So I think the problem you have here is that the Biden administration, who claims to be so righteous, has done nothing to protect this gentleman who has done a lot to clean up the system. ”“But with Julian's options here, it's hard to say exactly what's going to happen because it's not that transparent,” he continued. “Whatever the verdict here... will really be up to what's going on behind the scenes, in my opinion. I don't think this will be a fair system.”Birkenfeld went on to address the double standard of the Biden administration. An administration, he says, which claims to uphold human rights standards, but yet “wants to make him the scapegoat”. Though, the extradition battle against Assange was very heavily escalated under the authority of then-President Donald Trump, and this battle would be passed over to Biden’s desk depending on the decision.Assange, who has essentially been in solitary confinement since 2010, was in the Ecuadorian embassy in London until four and a half years ago. Then, he was forcibly removed and put in maximum security Belmarsh Penitentiary in south London, where he spent most of his time, again, in solitary confinement.“I really feel bad for Mr. Assange because I don't think you'll get a fair hearing,” said Birkenfeld who adds that the US is lashing out against the whistleblower because he made them “look bad”. “I don't think it will be pretty number one,” said Birkenfeld when asked what incarceration for Assange would look like. “The Justice Department can never be trusted. Time and time again, they lie, they obstruct, they hide evidence and so on and so forth. And they really don't go after the real perpetrators of crimes in the US because the problem is there's too many overlapping interests”“He's just going to be dragged through this process, which they claim is righteous, which it isn't. And it's really discriminatory to him. Why is he in solitary confinement? I mean, he hasn't done anything physically bad, he's just exposed what they did,” answered Birkenfeld, when asked how long Assange would have to wait before he actually goes to trial. The impending verdict in Julian Assange's final appeal against extradition to the US is fraught with significance, not only for Assange himself but also for the principles of journalistic freedom and transparency. With Assange's history of exposing uncomfortable truths through WikiLeaks, his case has become a litmus test for the limits of free speech and the protection of whistleblowers. As Birkenfeld points out, the perceived lack of fairness in the proceedings and the potential for political motivations behind the extradition request raise serious concerns about the integrity of international justice systems. The outcome of this case will likely have far-reaching implications for the treatment of similar cases in the future, underscoring the precarious balance between national security interests and the public's right to know.
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‘It Won’t Be Pretty’: Julian Assange Files Final Appeal as He Faces Possible Extradition to US
04:27 GMT 20.12.2023 (Updated: 18:14 GMT 20.12.2023) Julian Assange, 52, is wanted on 17 felony counts of espionage and conspiracy in the US. The Australian computer programmer and publisher who founded WikiLeaks in 2006 is viewed as an activist by some, while others—specifically the US government—see him as a felon.
On
Tuesday, it was announced by Julian Assange’s wife, Stella Moris-Assange, that he would file his last appeal in order to avoid extradition to the US. The public hearing will take place on February 20 and February 21 in the High Court of London. Assange could face a sentence of up to 175 years for exposing war crimes committed by the US military in the Afghan and Iraq wars.
Brad Birkenfeld, a famed financial whistleblower who exposed international money laundering and income tax evasion in the Swiss bank industry—spoke with
Sputnik’s Political Misfits and shared his thoughts on Assange and his potential extradition.
“The problem here is very simple,” said Birkenfeld. “Julian Assange is not an American who has actually uprooted the entire intelligence community by his exposés. WikiLeaks has done a great service to the world... Of course, the people who are breaking the law, don't want to be exposed.”
“And that's what he did,” said Birkenfeld, in reference to the nearly 500,000 documents leaked in the early 2010s by WikiLeaks—some of which exposed US war crimes. “So don't take it out on Julian Assange - take it out on the people who are breaking the law to begin with. And certainly nothing has happened to those folks in the military that we know of. So I think the problem you have here is that the Biden administration, who claims to be so righteous, has done nothing to protect this gentleman who has done a lot to clean up the system. ”
19 September 2023, 18:04 GMT
“But with Julian's options here, it's hard to say exactly what's going to happen because it's not that transparent,” he continued. “Whatever the verdict here... will really be up to what's going on behind the scenes, in my opinion. I don't think this will be a fair system.”
“You really think the U.S. government and the U.K. government is going to change their tune? I highly doubt it,” he added. “Hopefully people will revolt over this.”
Birkenfeld went on to address the double standard of the Biden administration. An administration, he says, which claims to uphold human rights standards, but yet “wants to make him the scapegoat”. Though, the extradition battle against Assange was very heavily escalated under the authority of
then-President Donald Trump, and this battle would be passed over to Biden’s desk depending on the decision.
Assange, who has essentially been in solitary confinement since 2010, was in the Ecuadorian embassy in London until four and a half years ago. Then, he was forcibly removed and put in maximum security Belmarsh Penitentiary in south London, where he spent most of his time, again, in solitary confinement.
“I really feel bad for Mr. Assange because I don't think you'll get a fair hearing,” said Birkenfeld who adds that the US is lashing out against the whistleblower because he made them “look bad”.
“I can't imagine people haven't stood up to help in this regard. And so it's going to take lawyers and protesters to really raise the red flag here, and I hope President Biden... he really deserves to be criticized for not doing something to pardon [Assange] from my point of view. He should be pardoned immediately.”
“I don't think it will be pretty number one,” said Birkenfeld when asked what incarceration for Assange would look like. “The Justice Department can never be trusted. Time and time again, they lie, they obstruct, they hide evidence and so on and so forth. And they really don't go after the real perpetrators of crimes in the US because the problem is there's too many overlapping interests”
“He's just going to be dragged through this process, which they claim is righteous, which it isn't. And it's really discriminatory to him. Why is he in solitary confinement? I mean, he hasn't done anything physically bad, he's just exposed what they did,” answered Birkenfeld, when asked how long Assange would have to wait before he actually goes to trial.
“So, quite frankly, it's mind boggling to think about this, to think that they should have the right to really punish him in this fashion. And it's really not the way America should be seen.”
The impending verdict in Julian Assange's final appeal against extradition to the US is fraught with significance, not only for Assange himself but also for the principles of journalistic freedom and transparency. With Assange's history of exposing uncomfortable truths through WikiLeaks, his case has become a litmus test for the limits of free speech and the protection of whistleblowers. As Birkenfeld points out, the perceived lack of fairness in the proceedings and the potential for political motivations behind the extradition request raise serious concerns about the integrity of international justice systems. The outcome of this case will likely have far-reaching implications for the treatment of similar cases in the future, underscoring the precarious balance between national security interests and the public's right to know.
