https://sputnikglobe.com/20240327/is-biden-administration-slow-rolling-assange-case-to-keep-journalist-in-limbo-1117573772.html
Is Biden Administration ‘Slow Rolling’ Assange Case to Keep Journalist in Limbo?
Is Biden Administration ‘Slow Rolling’ Assange Case to Keep Journalist in Limbo?
Sputnik International
Having been proven incompetent on any number of issues, the White House seeks to delay a decision on the Wikileaks founder’s fate.
2024-03-27T04:27+0000
2024-03-27T04:27+0000
2024-03-27T17:28+0000
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Journalist Julian Assange’s long-running legal saga took another unexpected turn Tuesday when the UK’s High Court of Justice ruled the Wikileaks founder would be granted a temporary reprieve from his expected extradition to the United States.The self-described transparency advocate has been effectively imprisoned in London for 12 years, first in the UK’s Ecuadorian embassy where he was granted refuge and then in Belmarsh Prison, a notorious high-security facility often called “Britain’s Guantanamo Bay.” Assange, an Australian citizen, is wanted by the United States for publishing leaked government documents including secret diplomatic cables and video evidence of US war crimes in Iraq.Observers have warned the prosecution of Assange would create a chilling effect for free speech in the West, setting the precedent the US can extradite and convict journalists worldwide merely for publishing leaked material. US President Joe Biden, undaunted, has continued efforts by his predecessors to try the activist in court despite his increasingly deteriorating health condition after years of confinement.Wilmer Leon, host of Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program, spoke to a series of guests Tuesday to assess the latest development in the case.“It's a limited appeal,” noted Steve Poikonen, a national organizer for the group Action for Assange. “They're not allowed to introduce some evidence that shows that the CIA was plotting to kidnap and possibly murder Assange while he was under protective custody of the Ecuadorian embassy. They have reduced the amount of arguments they can introduce at the appeal.”Assange’s legal team was also barred from challenging his extradition on the grounds it is being conducted for political purposes. The UK’s extradition treaty with the US prohibits the exchange of someone undergoing political persecution.“The United States, along with already trying to kidnap and kill the guy, or at least talking about kidnaping and killing him – thank you, President Trump and Mike Pompeo – has said that there could be additional charges added once he gets here that could result in 175 years in prison and/or the death penalty,” noted Leon. “By the way, if you are subjected to 175 years in prison without the possibility of parole, that is a fact that you will die in prison.”Kavanagh also addressed rumors published by Consortium News that Assange may be offered a plea deal that would keep him out of prison if he pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified documents. The journalist speculated the Biden administration may be trying to finally find a way out of the controversial issue.“You've got to just think that the British court is kind of fundamentally consulting with the Americans about how to play this game and drag it out as much as they can,” he said. “This is a horrible thing that this is still going on. He's being tortured. There's no reason for him to be in solitary confinement. He's been convicted of no crime, and he's being treated like a serial killer. It's disgraceful.”Analyst Caleb Maupin suggested various players in the long-running saga are merely looking to pass the buck, not wanting to be held responsible for Assange’s fate as his health continues to decline.“I'm forced to think about some of the police brutality cases I worked on in Cleveland when I was an activist,” said Maupin. “And there were many examples where somebody looks at a case, a judge or prosecutor. They think ‘I don't want to be the one to have my fingerprints on it. I don't want to be the one to do this.’”“And I look at how they're just kind of prolonging the legal proceedings and it seems like there's a lot of people in the British legal system that really don't want to have their fingerprints on whatever happens to Julian Assange,” he concluded. “They're trying to do everything they can to not be the one responsible for what ultimately occurs.”
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240326/uk-court-ruling-grants-assange-reprieve-and-strong-chance-to-appeal-extradition-1117567387.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20221213/assange-denied-permission-to-virtually-partake-in-sakharov-prize-award-wikileaks-1105413722.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240326/moscow-on-london-courts-decision-on-assange-uk-justice-system-becomes-laughing-stock-1117566511.html
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Is Biden Administration ‘Slow Rolling’ Assange Case to Keep Journalist in Limbo?
04:27 GMT 27.03.2024 (Updated: 17:28 GMT 27.03.2024) Having been proven incompetent on any number of issues, the White House seeks to delay a decision on the Wikileaks founder’s fate.
Journalist Julian Assange’s long-running legal saga took another unexpected turn Tuesday when the UK’s High Court of Justice ruled the Wikileaks founder would be
granted a temporary reprieve from his expected extradition to the United States.
The self-described transparency advocate has been effectively imprisoned in London for 12 years, first in the UK’s Ecuadorian embassy where he was granted refuge and then in Belmarsh Prison, a notorious high-security facility often called “Britain’s Guantanamo Bay.” Assange, an Australian citizen, is wanted by the United States for publishing leaked government documents including secret diplomatic cables and
video evidence of US war crimes in Iraq.
Observers have warned the prosecution of Assange would create a chilling effect for free speech in the West, setting the precedent the US can extradite and convict journalists worldwide merely for publishing leaked material. US President Joe Biden, undaunted, has continued efforts by his predecessors to try the activist in court despite his increasingly deteriorating health condition after years of confinement.
Wilmer Leon, host of
Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program, spoke to a series of guests Tuesday to assess the latest development in the case.
“The British High Court ruled today that Assange can mount a final challenge against extradition to the US to face trial for publishing secret diplomatic and military files, which, by the way folks, is not illegal,” Leon said. The host explained the UK court was seeking assurances from the United States that Assange would be granted First Amendment rights and would not be given the death penalty.
“It's a limited appeal,” noted Steve Poikonen, a national organizer for the group Action for Assange. “They're not allowed to introduce some evidence that shows that the CIA was plotting to kidnap and possibly murder Assange while he was under protective custody of the Ecuadorian embassy. They have reduced the amount of arguments they can introduce at the appeal.”
Assange’s legal team was also barred from challenging his extradition on the grounds it is being conducted for political purposes. The UK’s extradition treaty with the US prohibits the exchange of someone undergoing political persecution.
“The United States, along with already trying to kidnap and kill the guy, or at least talking about kidnaping and killing him – thank you, President Trump and Mike Pompeo – has said that there could be additional charges added once he gets here that could result in 175 years in prison and/or the death penalty,” noted Leon. “By the way, if you are subjected to 175 years in prison without the possibility of parole, that is a fact that you will die in prison.”
“It's very complicated and it's really just, I think, slow-rolling to try and keep him in jail as much as possible,” said journalist Jim Kavanagh, weighing in on Tuesday’s announcement. “They hope he'll die in jail. I don't know what they want to do about this. I don't think it's going to be a good thing for the Biden administration, especially in the current circumstances, to bring him into the United States and have them put him on trial here.”
Kavanagh also addressed rumors
published by Consortium News that Assange may be offered a plea deal that would keep him out of prison if he pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified documents. The journalist speculated the Biden administration may be trying to finally find a way out of the controversial issue.
“You've got to just think that the British court is kind of fundamentally consulting with the Americans about how to play this game and drag it out as much as they can,” he said. “This is a horrible thing that this is still going on. He's being tortured. There's no reason for him to be in solitary confinement. He's been convicted of no crime, and he's being treated like a serial killer. It's disgraceful.”
13 December 2022, 08:56 GMT
Analyst Caleb Maupin suggested various players in the long-running saga are merely looking to pass the buck, not wanting to be held responsible for Assange’s fate as his health continues to decline.
“I'm forced to think about some of the police brutality cases I worked on in Cleveland when I was an activist,” said Maupin. “And there were many examples where somebody looks at a case, a judge or prosecutor. They think ‘I don't want to be the one to have my fingerprints on it. I don't want to be the one to do this.’”
“And I look at how they're just kind of prolonging the legal proceedings and it seems like there's a lot of people in the British legal system that really don't want to have their fingerprints on whatever happens to Julian Assange,” he concluded. “They're trying to do everything they can to not be the one responsible for what ultimately occurs.”
