Wikileaks founder Julian Assange cannot be immediately extradited to the United States, the High Court in London ruled on Tuesday (March 23) and added that Washington must offer certain assurances over his treatment including protection from the death penalty.
The embattled whistleblower, who rose to international prominence in 2010 when Wikileaks released secret US military and diplomatic cables related to the excesses committed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, has been in a London prison since 2019.
The two High Court judges ruled they “will grant leave to appeal’ on narrow grounds “unless a satisfactory assurance is provided by the government of the United States of America”.
The court gave the United States three weeks “to give satisfactory assurances” that Assange “is permitted to rely on the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (which protects free speech), that he is not prejudiced at trial (including sentence) by reason of his nationality, that he is afforded the same First Amendment protections as a United States citizen and that the death penalty is not imposed.”
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Reacting to Tuesday’s decision, Julian’s wife Stella, whom he married in 2022 inside Belmarsh prison, said: “Today’s decision is astounding. The courts recognise that Julian is exposed to a flagrant denial of his freedom of expression rights, that he is being discriminated against on the basis of his nationality, an Australian, and that he remains exposed to the death penalty.”
What next on Julian Assange?
If the US ends up giving assurances, there will be another hearing on May 20 to decide if they “are satisfactory”. If the US does not give these assurances then Assange will be given a right to a full appeal hearing in a major win for the Australian-origin publisher-activist.
The 52-year-old fled to the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in 2012 to escape extradition to Sweden, where he faced an inquiry into accusations of rape and sexual assault that were later dropped.
He remained in the embassy for seven years, until he was told to go in 2019.
After expulsion from the embassy, Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks in jail in London for breaching bail conditions related to the rape inquiry. He has remained at Belmarsh Prison.
The US then sought Assange’s extradition from London with prosecutors accusing him of violating the Espionage Act for his role in the 2010 disclosures and of conspiring to hack into a Pentagon computer network.
In 2021, a London court rejected the extradition request stating that Assange might be driven to suicide by the conditions he would most likely face in an American prison. However, a higher court later ruled that he could be extradited.
Later, as a mark of Washington-London diplomatic bonhomie, British Home Secretary Priti Patel approved an order to extradite him in 2022. But it was later challenged in the court.
Two High Court judges are now hearing his final bid for an appeal in a British court.
(With inputs from agencies)
