LONDON (AP) — julian assange’s Lawyers on Tuesday launched the final legal challenge in Britain to stop the WikiLeaks founder’s criminal activities. sent to the US He is expected to be charged with espionage, saying US authorities are seeking to punish him for exposing serious criminal activity by the US government.
Lawyer Edward Fitzgerald said Mr Assange could “suffer a gross denial of justice” if sent to the US. During a two-day High Court hearing, Mr Assange’s lawyers asked the judge to allow him to appeal again. legal last dice roll In England.
Assange himself did not appear in court. Judge Victoria Sharp said she had permission to come to the hearing from Belmarsh Prison but she chose not to attend. Mr Fitzgerald said the 52-year-old Australian was unwell.
Stella AssangeJulian had wanted to attend, but his health was “not good,” his wife said.
“Over Christmas he became unwell and had been coughing ever since,” she told The Associated Press. She said the WikiLeaks founder was proceeding through a lawyer.
Mr. Assange’s family and supporters say his physical and mental health deteriorated during this period. More than 10 years of legal battles, That includes seven years in self-imposed exile at the Ecuadorian embassy in London and the past five years in a high-security prison on the outskirts of the British capital.
He is charged with 17 counts of espionage and one count of computer abuse for publishing classified U.S. documents on his website nearly 15 years ago. U.S. prosecutors allege Assange helped steal diplomatic cables and military files from U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning that were later released by WikiLeaks, putting her life at risk.
To his supporters, Assange is a secretive journalist who exposed US military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. They argue that the prosecution is politically motivated and that they will not receive a fair trial in the United States.
Hundreds of supporters stage a raucous protest outside London’s neo-Gothic High Court, holding placards reading “Free Julian Assange” and chanting “One decision, no extradition”. I did it. Rallies were also held in cities around the world, including Rome, Brussels and Berlin.
Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange speaks outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Tuesday, February 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
“If Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States is successful, journalists around the world will need to be on high alert,” said Simon Crowther, general counsel for human rights group Amnesty International.
Stella Assange told the audience that the case was about “the right to speak freely without being imprisoned or subject to hounding or fear by the state.”
Referring to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison last week, he said, “What happened to Mr. Navalny can happen to Mr. Julian, and will happen to Mr. Julian if he is extradited.”
Stella Assange is Married in prison to WikiLeaks founder in 2022 — said last week that his health had deteriorated during his years in captivity and that “if he was extradited, he would die.”
If the judge rules against Assange, Assange could ask the European Court of Human Rights to block the extradition, but the British government has already signed the extradition order, so Assange cannot be sent to the United States before that happens. Supporters fear he could be put on a plane.
Assange’s lawyers say he could face up to 175 years in prison if convicted, but US authorities say the sentence is likely to be shorter.
Some of Assange’s claims against extradition have already been rejected by British courts, but his lawyers are trying to present new arguments to secure an appeal.
Assange’s lawyers argued the charges were politically motivated retaliation for WikiLeaks’ “unprecedented revelations of crimes on the part of the US government,” including torture and murder.
“The United States has exploited its criminal justice system to maintain impunity for U.S. officials and to suppress their actors and courts for torture and war crimes committed during the infamous War on Terror. Mr. Assange’s lawyers said in written arguments that he was willing and prepared to seek accountability for these crimes. “Mr. Assange was one of its targets.”
Mr. Assange’s lawyers also want the judge to reconsider allegations that the CIA plotted to kidnap or kill Mr. Assange while he was in the Ecuadorian embassy. A lower court judge dismissed the suit, but Assange’s lawyer Mark Summers said Tuesday there was evidence that “the conspiracy was real.”
A banner is left outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Tuesday, February 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
“There was a plan to kidnap Mr. Assange and either hand him over to the United States or directly kill him,” he claimed.
Mr Fitzgerald added that he was open to considering “an extrajudicial attack or even more” against Mr Assange and said: “There is a real possibility that the Trump administration will return.”
Lawyers for the U.S. government plan to file their lawsuit on Wednesday. US representative James Lewis said Assange was being prosecuted “because he is suspected of having committed serious criminal acts”.
He said in a written submission that Assange’s actions “threatened to undermine the strategic and national security interests of the United States” and that the document included Iraqis and Afghans who supported U.S. forces. It alleges that it puts individuals at risk of “serious bodily harm.”
Mr. Assange’s legal troubles began in 2010, when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted him questioned over allegations of rape and sexual assault by two women. In 2012, Assange jumped bail and took refuge inside the Ecuadorian embassy.
Assange’s relationship with his hosts Eventually it felt bad and he was kicked out. He was arrested from the embassy in April 2019. British police quickly arrested and jailed him for breaching bail in 2012.Sweden Sex crime investigation closed November 2019, so much time has passed.
British District Court Judge rejected the US extradition request In 2021, Assange is likely to commit suicide if he is detained in harsh prison conditions in the United States.high court overturned that decision After getting assurances about his treatment from the US. The British government signed the extradition order in June 2022.
on the other hand, Australia’s parliament called out Mr Assange last week be allowed to return to their homeland.
Judges Sharp and Jeremy Johnson could render a verdict at the end of Wednesday’s hearing, but are likely to take several weeks to consider their decision.
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Associated Press video journalists Kwiyong Ha and Joe Carney contributed to this report.