The London High Court partially granted the Australian native’s application on Monday. This means that an immediate transfer of the 52-year-old to the USA has been averted for the time being. His wife Stella Assange spoke of a turning point and called on the USA to immediately stop the proceedings.
Assange’s team was relieved. “This is a victory,” said current Wikileaks boss Kristinn Hrafnsson to the German Press Agency after the verdict. Numerous Assange supporters cheered in front of the court, and his lawyers hugged each other in the courtroom. They had previously convinced the judges in a hearing that lasted almost two hours that the Australian would be allowed to present his arguments in a full appeal process. A date for this has not yet been set, but commentators believe it will take a few months.
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The focus at the High Court was on the question of whether Assange could invoke the right to freedom of expression as a foreign citizen in the USA. The judges initially postponed the decision at the end of March and demanded assurances from the USA. However, these initially did not convince the court.
There is a risk of up to 175 years in prison
The US government wants to put the Australian on trial on espionage charges. He faces up to 175 years in prison. The US government accuses him of stealing and publishing secret material from military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with whistleblower Chelsea Manning, thereby endangering the lives of US informants. Assange’s supporters, however, see him as being targeted by the Washington judiciary because of his exposure of US war crimes.
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Assange’s team warns that the Wikileaks founder’s health is poor. That is why he did not personally attend the court hearing. Stella Assange, who, like his father John Shipton, followed the hearing in the courtroom, fears for his life because of the expected harsh prison conditions in the USA and her husband’s unstable psyche. She called on US President Joe Biden to drop the charges. “Just stop this shameful attack on journalists, the press and the public that has been going on for 14 years,” she said after the court decision.
Hope for a political solution
Assange’s supporters are also likely to pin their hopes on a political solution. The Australian government is now calling for the release of its citizen. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized that the matter had been dragging on for too long.
US President Biden recently raised some hope. When asked whether the US wanted to consider an Australian request to stop prosecution against Assange, he said: “We are considering it.” Albanese called the statement “encouraging.” There are rumors that the government in Washington may not be keen on an early extradition and trial of Assange in the USA shortly before the presidential election.
In a maximum security prison for five years
Assange has been in the high-security Belmarsh prison in London for around five years. Before his arrest in April 2019, he had evaded law enforcement authorities for seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. They initially targeted him because of rape allegations in Sweden. However, these allegations were later dropped due to lack of evidence. He is now in prison without a conviction. Human rights organizations, journalists’ associations, artists and politicians are calling for Assange’s immediate release.
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Source: Nachrichten
