A rendition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the United States seems ever closer. In the United States, the 50-year-old Australian faces up to 175 years in prison on espionage charges.
Britain has approved the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the US. A corresponding instruction had been signed by Home Secretary Priti Patel, her ministry announced on Friday in London. ssange has 14 days to take action against the British government’s decision.
According to the law, the interior minister must sign an extradition order “if there are no reasons that preclude (extradition) from doing so,” the ministry said. The British courts could not have identified such reasons.
After years of back and forth in various courts, it was now the turn of the British government. At the end of last year, the High Court in London lifted an extradition ban on Assange that had previously been issued because of the risk of suicide. The Supreme Court had recently rejected an appeal.
Julian Assange faces up to 175 years in prison
The Internet disclosure platform Wikileaks spoke on Twitter of a “black day for press freedom and British democracy” and announced a contradiction.
It was initially unclear whether and when the 50-year-old Australian would be extradited. According to his supporters, legal recourse has not yet been exhausted. They fear that he will be sent to a maximum security prison, despite assurances from Washington to the contrary.
The US judiciary wants to put Assange on trial for allegations of espionage. He faces up to 175 years in prison if convicted. He is accused of having stolen and published secret material from US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan together with whistleblower Chelsea Manning, thereby endangering the lives of US informants.
His supporters, on the other hand, see him as an investigative journalist who has brought war crimes to light and who is now to be made an example of.
Source: Stern
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