Julian Assange's partner hails UK blocking his extradition; Mexico offers political asylum

On Monday, in one of the biggest cases regarding the freedom of press, UK district judge Vanessa Baraitser held that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should not be extradited to the United States. While the US Justice Department has hinted that they will appeal against the order, this temporary relief to Julian Assange has been hailed by her partner Stella Moris. On the other hand, Mexico's President offered political asylum and protection to the Wikileaks founder.

Terming the order as "victory" and as "the first step towards justice", she also appealed to Donald Trump to halt the extradition efforts. Borrowing words from Ronald Reagan’s Berlin Wall speech, she said, "Mr President tear down these prison walls. Let our little boys have their father. Free Julian. Free the press." She also added that she will celebrate when Assange is finally out and is with his sons.

READ | WikiLeaks' Julian Assange should not be extradited to the United States, UK court rules

What was the order?

The UK judge while blocking the extradition said that as per his medical reports Julian Assange is clinically depressed and may commit suicide if sent to the US. She said, "The overall impression is of a depressed and sometimes despairing man, who is genuinely fearful about his future. I find that the mental condition of Mr Assange is such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America,” she concluded.

Meanwhile, the US Justice Department in a statement said: "While we are extremely disappointed in the court’s ultimate decision, we are gratified that the United States prevailed on every point of law raised. In particular, the court rejected all of Mr. Assange’s arguments regarding political motivation, political offense, fair trial, and freedom of speech. We will continue to seek Mr. Assange’s extradition to the United States."

Mexico offers political asylum

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that his country will approach authorities in the UK to enquire about the possibility of Assange's release and for Mexico to offer him political asylum. "I'm going to ask the foreign minister to carry out the relevant procedures to request that the UK government releases Mr. Assange and that Mexico offers him political asylum. Mexico would ensure that whoever receives asylum does not intervene or interfere in the political affairs of any country."

READ | Edward Snowden pleads Donald Trump to 'free Julian Assange' before leaving White House

Assange's partner demands pardon

Julian Assange's partner, Stella Moris, had tweeted to President Donald Trump on Thanksgiving, appealing to him to pardon the WikiLeaks founder. Moris had posted a photo of their two young children on Twitter and wrote: “These are Julian's sons Max and Gabriel. They need their father. Our family needs to be whole again.” “I beg you, please bring him home for Christmas,” she added. Moris said he has been confined exclusively to his cell for over a week because of a coronavirus outbreak on his prison block. Earlier, on December 4, former CIA employee and whistleblower Edward Snowden requested the outgoing US President Donald Trump to “free Julian Assange”, stating that he can "save his life".

READ | Rumours Of Trump Pardoning Julian Assange Floated & Dashed

Julian Assange's Case

The 48-year-old currently imprisoned in Belmarsh is slapped with 18 charges in the United States including under the Espionage Act, for "conspiring" to gain access to US military secrets between January and May 2010. If convicted, he will face up to 175 years in US prison. Wikileaks, an anti-secrecy organisation, was founded in 2006 as a platform for whistleblowers to release classified information anonymously. By 2015, Wikileaks became a portal to publish over 10 million documents, including top-secret documents. Ever since its launch in 2006, Wikileaks has published thousands of classified documents, disclosing the details from national security, war, politics to the film industry. Assange is accused of conspiring with hackers affiliated to “Anonymous” and “LulzSec” to obtain classified information, as per US Justice Department's updated indictment.

Assange's defence team states that he is a journalist and entitled to First Amendment protections for publishing leaked documents that exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also say that the conditions he would face in a U.S. prison would breach his human rights. Assange jumped bail in 2012 and sought asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, which ended up becoming his home for seven years before he was evicted and subsequently arrested. He has been in a London prison since April 2019.

READ | Julian Assange's partner appeals to Trump to pardon him