The High Court of Britain made a significant ruling, stating that Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has the opportunity to launch a new appeal against his extradition to the United States. However, this can only happen if the U.S. government provides assurances that his First Amendment rights will be safeguarded.
The United States has been given a deadline of three weeks by a two-judge panel to provide clarification on whether or not Julian Assange, an Australian citizen, will be allowed to use the constitutional free speech defense. It is important to note that he should not face the death penalty, which is the highest punishment for espionage.
The 66-page judgment stated that if the assurances are not provided, the option to appeal will be granted, leading to an appeal hearing.
The parties will have another chance to present their arguments for and against at a hearing on May 20, where a final decision will be made on whether to grant Assange leave to appeal, provided that assurances are given.
The ruling states that Mr. Assange will not be extradited right away. It further adds that Assange has a promising chance of success on three of the nine grounds of appeal he has been pursuing.
Stella Assange, Julian Assange’s wife, expressed her astonishment at the decision to prolong his appeal while he has been in high-security prison remand since April 2019. She shared her thoughts outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London.
She expressed astonishment at the fact that the courts have actually invited political intervention from the United States.
Julian Assange has been engaged in a relentless battle against extradition ever since the U.S. Justice Department formally requested it in 2019. Despite a string of unsuccessful legal challenges, his determination has not wavered. This culminated in then-Home Secretary Priti Patel signing an extradition warrant in June 2022, following the High Court’s refusal to grant him permission to appeal three months earlier.
Last month, he initiated the final legal attempt in the high court to put a stop to the process.
U.S. prosecutors claim that Julian Assange endangered lives by aiding Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst, in stealing diplomatic cables and classified military files. In 2010, he subsequently published this sensitive information on his whistleblowing website.
He is being charged with 17 counts of espionage and one count of computer misuse in relation to the publication of the documents by Wikileaks.
According to James Lewis, legal counsel for the U.S. government, Julian Assange’s actions posed a threat to the strategic and national security interests of the United States. In addition, Lewis stated that Assange’s actions exposed individuals named in the files, such as Iraqis and Afghans loyal to U.S. forces, to the risk of serious physical harm.
In February, the Australian government supported a motion that called for Julian Assange to be returned to Australia.
MP Andrew Wilkie, the sponsor of the motion, emphasized the significant political message it conveys to both the British and U.S. governments. He firmly believes that the British government should firmly reject any thoughts of extraditing Mr. Assange to the United States.
According to Wilkie, extraditing Julian Assange from the United Kingdom to stand trial would constitute a direct assault on the freedom of the press. This action would establish a distressing precedent, putting all journalists at risk of imprisonment for simply carrying out their professional duties.
Australia has directly raised Julian Assange’s case with the United States as well.
