The extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the United States is fast approaching. The British government has now released him. The Australian faces up to 175 years in prison. But the matter is still not decided.
It is a serious setback for Julian Assange: after years of tug-of-war, Great Britain has approved the extradition of the Wikileaks founder to the USA. The conservative Home Secretary Priti Patel signed a corresponding order, as her ministry announced on Friday in London.
A Home Office spokesman justified the decision by saying: “British courts have not found in this case that it would be repressive, unfair or an abuse of process to extradite Mr Assange.” His fundamental rights – including the rights to due process and freedom of expression – are not affected. In January 2021, a British court had forbidden Assange’s extradition, citing a high risk of suicide. However, the United States had appealed the verdict and won.
Wikileaks: “Black Day for Press Freedom”
Assange now has two weeks to appeal. Those around him fear he will be placed in solitary confinement and not receive a fair trial, despite assurances to the contrary from Washington.
The US judiciary wants to put Assange on trial for allegations of espionage. The Australian 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 lawyers argue that no one was harmed at all. Supporters see Assange as a courageous journalist who brought war crimes to light and who should now be made an example of.
Wikileaks spoke of a “black day for press freedom and British democracy”. Patel made himself an accomplice to the United States, which wanted to make investigative journalism a crime. The platform even accuses US intelligence agencies of being involved in a plot to assassinate Assange. “Julian has done nothing wrong. He has committed no crime and is not a criminal,” the organization said on Twitter. “He’s a journalist and an editor and he’s being punished for doing his job.”
Apparently, legal recourse for Julian Assange is still possible
The human rights organization Amnesty International also called for Assange’s release. The British government’s decision sends “a chilling message” to all journalists, said Amnesty chief Agnès Callamard. She expressed concern that Assange could be held in solitary confinement in the US for an extended period of time, despite assurances to the contrary from the US government.
Assange has been held in Belmarsh Maximum Security Prison since his arrest in April 2019. Before that, he had evaded the law enforcement authorities for several years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. They had initially sought him in Sweden because of allegations of rape. However, these allegations were later dropped for lack of evidence.
It is still unclear whether the 50-year-old will actually be extradited. According to his supporters, legal recourse has not yet been exhausted. “We will take legal action. The next appeal will be before the High Court. We will fight louder and shout harder on the streets,” the WikiLeaks statement said.
Federal government: Decision contestable
Legal experts assume that the case could drag on for months. Assange must therefore first get permission to appeal from the British High Court. If this is granted, a hearing might not take place until early next year.
Assange could also turn to the European Court of Human Rights. In this case, a “very, very slow process” is to be expected, said Rebecca Niblock, a specialist in extradition law at the law firm Kingsley Napley.
The federal government also pointed out that the decision to extradite is still contestable. Deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said in Berlin: “According to the current state of knowledge, there is probably another legal route possible.” This will be “monitored very closely”. The German Association of Journalists called on the United States to drop the charges. If President Joe Biden denounces Russian war crimes in Ukraine, he should not take extreme legal action against the investigators of American war crimes.
Source: Stern
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