He is threatened with extradition: Assange’s future is now being decided

class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc”>

Julian Assange (52) wants to defend himself against extradition to the US during a court hearing in London on Tuesday and Wednesday. If his appeal to the High Court is not granted, his legal remedies in Britain will be exhausted. The US Department of Justice wants to try the Australian in the US on charges of espionage.

It was not clear until recently when exactly the appeal would be decided. However, Assange’s wife Stella fears the 52-year-old could be put on a plane to the US within days, she told journalists in London last week. If convicted in the United States, Assange faces up to 175 years in prison.

Stella Assange fears for her husband’s life

If his appeal in London were rejected, Assange’s only option would be to go to the European Court of Human Rights. Stella Assange announced that his team would immediately apply for a preliminary injunction to prevent immediate extradition. However, there are concerns that the British government could ignore such an order. She fears for his life due to the harsh prison conditions expected in the US and her husband’s unstable psyche.

Washington accuses him of stealing and publishing classified material from US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with whistleblower Chelsea Manning, endangering the lives of US informants. Assange’s lawyers argue that no one has suffered any harm as a result.

Supporters see Assange as a journalist who exposed war crimes and who should now be made an example of. They view the prosecution against him as an attack on press freedom because Assange merely published the information leaked to him. They called for demonstrations outside the Royal Courts of Justice on both days of the hearing. A march to the government headquarters at 10 Downing Street was also planned for Wednesday.

Requests for release are also being made from Germany

Human rights organizations and journalists’ associations around the world are campaigning for the 52-year-old’s release. Shortly before the start of the hearing in London, the president of the German Union of Journalists (dju), Tina Groll, called for an end to the prosecution. By rejecting the US extradition request, the British judiciary could send an “unmistakable signal for fundamental democratic values”, Groll said.

“WikiLeaks played an important role in ensuring that the world public became acquainted with the dirty side of American war missions,” emphasized the federal president of the German Journalists Association, Mika Beuster. “Julian Assange deserves an award for this, not a prison sentence.”

Assange also hopes for a political solution

The Australian has been held in the high-security Belmarsh prison in London since his arrest in April 2019. He had previously evaded law enforcement authorities for years in the Ecuadorian embassy in the British capital. They initially targeted him over rape allegations in Sweden. However, these charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence.

In addition to success in the legal wrangling, Assange hopes for a political solution. The Australian government is now campaigning for the release of its citizen. Just last week, the Australian parliament passed a resolution calling on the US and Britain to end the prosecution of Assange. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized that the case has been dragging on for too long. However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has repeatedly rejected calls to end the law enforcement crackdown. (SDA)

Source: Blick