- Sputnik International, 1920
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

London Court Rules Assange Can Continue to Challenge Extradition to US

© AFP 2023 / DANIEL LEALWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures from the window of a prison van as he is driven out of Southwark Crown Court in London on May 1, 2019, after having been sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching his bail conditions in 2012.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures from the window of a prison van as he is driven out of Southwark Crown Court in London on May 1, 2019, after having been sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching his bail conditions in 2012.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 26.03.2024
Subscribe
American prosecutors are seeking to put Assange on trial on espionage charges regarding WikiLeaks’s release of classified documents on the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The High Court of Justice in London ruled in favor of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Tuesday, allowing him to continue to challenge the decision on his extradition to the United States in UK courts.
The court, in particular, ruled that:
Assange will not be extradited immediately;
The US has three weeks to give “satisfactory assurances”, namely that the WikiLeaks founder will face a fair trial and that his extradition will not amount to a death sentence;
If assurances are not given, the court will grant leave to appeal without a further hearing;
If assurances are provided, the court will allow the parties an opportunity to make further submissions before it makes a final decision.
Assange’s wife has, meanwhile, called on the US to drop the charges against her husband and close the case rather than provide the guarantees that the court asked for.
Since April 2019, Assange, 52, has been held in London's high-security Belmarsh prison while he faces prosecution in the US under the Espionage Act for obtaining classified information and disclosing it in the public domain.
Th espionage charges against him revolve around Assange publishing thousands of classified documents concerning Washington's alleged military crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. They were provided by then-US Army private and whistleblower Chelsea (born Bradley) Manning.
A police officer stands in front of the banner with a photo of Julian Assange near the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London - Sputnik International, 1920, 22.02.2024
Analysis
US ‘Always Planned’ For Assange to Die in Prison
If convicted, the WikiLeaks founder could face 175 years in prison. In December 2022, he appealed to the European Court of Human Rights to fight his extradition.
WikiLeaks was founded by Assange on October 4, 2006, but rose to prominence in 2010 when it began publishing large-scale leaks of classified government information.
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала