US 'pleased' as UK grants Julian Assange's extradition; fiancee flags threat to free press

A British appellate court on Friday has directed a lower court judge to send the request for the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be extradited to the US,  to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in a ruling that the Amnesty International and press freedom advocates call a ‘travesty of justice’.

The UK High Court granted an appeal made by the US government, after earlier in January, a lower court British judge halted Assange’s extradition on mental health grounds. Judges in their verdict ruled that they received reassurance by the US to reduce the risk of suicide for Assange. 

“That risk is in our judgment excluded by the assurances which are offered. It follows that we are satisfied that, if the assurances had been before the judge, she would have answered the relevant question differently,” the verdict of London High Court Lord Justice Timothy Holroyde read in summary of judgement. 

“That conclusion is sufficient to determine this appeal in the USA’s favour,” UK’s two senior most judges said, overturning the previous verdict on January by UK district court judge Vanessa Baraitser, blocking Assange's  extradition to the US. 

Espionage charges for publishing defense, national security material

WikiLeaks founder Assange, if extradited [as the final decision lays in UK Home Secretary Priti Patel’s hands], will be sent on trial for espionage charges in the US for conspiracy to hack and misuse computer and several other charges under the controversial Espionage Act.

Assange faces 18 counts related to “obtaining and disclosing defense and national security material” through the WikiLeaks website, primarily in 2009 and 2010 but also “to some extent since”, per a court summary, obtained by the agencies. Defenders argue that Julian Assange’s persecution for “telling the truth” and his extradition would have detrimental effects on journalism and for media worldwide. 

"We are pleased by the decision," a Justice Department spokesperson told Russia's state-affiliated news agency Sputnik, although declined to elaborate further on the immediate next steps US plans to take. 

Assange obtained classified information, including in one instance from the former US Army soldier and whistleblower Bradley, now renamed as Chelsea Manning, who handed the Wikileaks founder a trove of the classified and sensitive military, diplomatic documents which Assange published via WikiLeaks. The data included leaked army reports and videos of airstrikes, including instances of civilian deaths and botched up US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, that caused Washington accountability and embarrassment. 

Editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, Kristinn Hrafnsson said, “Julian’s life is once more under grave threat, and so is the right of journalists to publish material that governments and corporations find inconvenient. This is about the right of a free press to publish without being threatened by a bullying superpower.”

Following the ruling, WikiLeaks, an international non-profit that publishes news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources, took to its official handle and published Assange’s finacee’s statement, calling the UK High Court’s decision as “Grave miscarriage of justice.” 

“A UK court has overturned an earlier decision blocking the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States where he is accused of publishing true information revealing crimes committed by the US government in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and details of CIA torture and rendition,” Julian Assange’s fiancée Stella Moris said. She went on to add that Julian Assange was not permitted to attend the appeal hearing in person.

Calling Assange’s extradition and trial in the US on espionage charges an “existential threat to press freedom worldwide,” his fiancee said that she will appeal this decision “at the earliest possible moment.” Leading civil liberties groups, including Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, ACLU, and Human Rights Watch have called the charges against Julian Assange a “threat to press freedom around the globe.”

Journalist unions, including the National Union of Journalists and the International Federation of Journalists, have said that “media freedom is suffering lasting damage by the continued prosecution of Julian Assange,” Moris asserted, boycotting the UK court’s decision, per which, Julian Assange will be imprisoned for 175 years. 

UK High Court decision 'dangerous and misguided'

Describing the  High Court’s ruling as “dangerous and misguided,” WikeLeaks’ fiancee said: “How can if be fair, how can it be right, how can it be possible, to extradite Julian to the very country which plotted to kill him?”

She then went on to add that on September 26, the CIA planned to assassinate Julian Assange, the details of which were uncovered in a bombshell report. Investigations revealed covert discussions of assassinating Julian Assange in London had occurred “at the highest levels” of the CIA and Trump White House, Moris said.

Kill “sketches” and “options” had been drawn upon orders of Mike Pompeo, then CIA director, she asserted, adding that the plan to kidnap and rendition Assange were far advanced and the CIA’s operations prompted a political decision to produce charges against him. 

(Image: AP)