The US police are already waiting to put the Wikileaks founder on a plane to the USA, Stella Assange had warned. But nothing came of it on Tuesday.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has received another delay in his application to appeal against the threat of extradition to the USA. The London High Court decided that the 52-year-old should not be transferred directly to the United States. Accordingly, the Australian’s application for an appeal could still be granted.
As the judges explained, the appeal was rejected on six out of nine points. On three other points it depends on whether the US government and the British Home Secretary can provide appropriate guarantees. The judges set a deadline of three weeks for this.
US government should guarantee fair trial
The question is whether Assange can invoke the right to freedom of expression in a trial in the USA and whether he enjoys the same rights as US citizens, whether he will not be pre-judged because of his citizenship and whether the death penalty will not be imposed. If the deadline passes without the guarantees being given, there should be an appeal hearing immediately. If the guarantees are provided on time, a decision should be made based on a further hearing on May 20th.
The US government wants to put the Australian on trial on espionage charges. He faces up to 175 years in prison. Washington accuses him of stealing and publishing secret material from military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and many other secret documents with whistleblower Chelsea Manning, thereby endangering the lives of US informants. Assange’s supporters, however, see him as a journalist who has been targeted by the Washington judiciary for exposing US war crimes.
Stella Assange feared immediate extradition
The verdict on Tuesday, after a two-day hearing, was eagerly awaited. Assange’s wife Stella had expressed fears that if his appeal was rejected, he could immediately be put on a plane to the USA. This has now been averted for the time being.
But Assange continues to fight only to be able to legally object to the extradition that has already been decided. If this application is rejected, his only option would be to go to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Stella Assange fears for his life because of the expected harsh prison conditions in the USA and her husband’s unstable psyche. The risk of suicide was also the reason why a judge initially rejected extradition. But the decision was later overturned. She reportedly described the verdict as “downright bizarre.” The court asked the USA to send a letter saying: “Everything is okay”. But assurances from the USA cannot be relied upon, she warned.
Associations stand behind Assange
The German Journalists Association (DJV) welcomed the latest decision. Assange had achieved a stage victory, it said in a DJV statement. “This leaves the door ajar for late justice,” said DJV federal chairman Mika Beuster, according to the statement. He added: “The end result must be the release of Julian Assange. Anything else would be a severe blow to him personally as well as to the fundamental right of freedom of the press.”
The writers’ association PEN Berlin also praised the decision, but warned that no decision had been made on the matter yet. “Julian Assange couldn’t win today; for him it was just a matter of not losing (…),” said PEN Berlin spokeswoman Eva Menasse, according to a statement.
The foreign policy spokesman for the Die Linke group in the Bundestag, Gregor Gysi, emphasized that if it is not clear whether the USA guarantees a constitutional process at all, it will become clear why Assange’s extradition must be prevented. “The US should care less about Assange and more about those responsible for war crimes that have come to light thanks to Assange,” he demanded.
Australia’s government is campaigning for his release
Assange has been in London’s Belmarsh maximum security prison for almost five years. Before his arrest in April 2019, he had evaded law enforcement authorities for several 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.
The Australian government is now campaigning for the release of its citizen. The Australian Parliament recently passed a resolution calling on the US and UK to stop prosecuting Assange. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized that the matter had been dragging on for too long. However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has repeatedly rejected calls for an end to law enforcement.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
