Julian Assange has been given a reprieve in his fight against extradition to the US at the high court in London.
In a written statement handed down on Tuesday morning, the president of the king’s bench division, Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Johnson said that the WikiLeaks founder, Assange, would be able to bring an appeal on three grounds (out of the nine submitted by the defence), unless the court received suitable assurances by the Biden administration.
These assurances are that Assange, an Australian citizen, would be protected by and could rely on the first amendment – which protects freedom of speech in the US; that he would not be “prejudiced at trial” due to his nationality; and that he would not face the death penalty if convicted.
Assurances subject to conditions
The judges gave the US authorities three weeks to make those assurances, with a final hearing scheduled for Monday 20 May.
But the court refused to allow Assange to appeal on the grounds that the US was prosecuting him for his “political opinions”, that extradition would violate his right to a fair trial, and that extradition would violate his right to life or expose him to cruel and inhuman treatment.
The court also rejected Assange’s request to include “fresh evidence” related to alleged evidence that CIA director Mike Pompeo and other CIA officials drew up plans to kidnap or kill Assange while he was living in Ecuador’s London embassy under diplomatic asylum.
Stella Assange describes ruling as ‘astounding’
At last month’s two-day hearing reported by Yorkshire Bylines Assange’s lawyers argued that he faced a “flagrant denial of justice” if extradited to the US to face charges relating to the publication by Assange and WikiLeaks of thousands of classified and diplomatic documents they said had exposed torture, rendition, extrajudicial killings and war crimes.
If the judges had denied Assange permission to appeal he could have been extradited within days to face espionage charges in the US.
Commenting on hearing the judgement, Assange’s wife, Stella, expressed dismay at the judges’ decision. “What the courts have done has been to invite a political intervention from the United States … send a letter saying ‘it’s all OK’”, she said. “I find this astounding. The Biden administration should not issue assurances. They should drop this shameful case that should never have been brought.”
Assange decision tentatively welcomed by journalists
The decision was, however, welcomed by the International Federation of Journalists who said that the decision potentially granting Assange’s appeal gave British courts a last chance to safeguard public interest journalism.
It was also welcomed by Michelle Stanistreet NUJ general secretary who said that the reprieve was clearly preferable to an extradition that would have taken place in the coming days, although the risks to Assange and press freedom remain stark.
