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Assange verdict branded as ‘travesty of justice’ – There IS NO ‘justice’. This is a political decision by a political ‘court’ that was as predictable as saying Johnson’s next statement will be a lie

Human rights and press freedom activists have fiercely condemned a UK court ruling paving the way for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be extradited to the US where he faces espionage charges.
The UK High Court on Friday granted the US’ request to extradite Assange, a request it had previously blocked due to Assange’s declining mental health. While the ruling is not final and can be appealed by Assange’s legal team, it brings the former WikiLeaks boss one step closer to a trial on US soil, where he faces a possible 175 years behind bars if convicted of espionage.
“These proceedings, and today’s ruling, are a black mark on the history of press freedom,” wrote Trevor Timm of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. “That United States prosecutors continued to push for this outcome is a betrayal of the journalistic principles the Biden administration has taken credit for celebrating,” Timm, who previously testified in Assange’s defense, continued.
Read more: Assange verdict branded as ‘travesty of justice’ – There IS NO ‘justice’. This is a political decision by a political ‘court’ that was as predictable as saying Johnson’s next statement will be a lie

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Priti Patel signs order to extradite Julian Assange to US over espionage charges

Home secretary Priti Patel has signed an order to extradite Julian Assange to the US to face espionage charges.
The Home Office has confirmed it will seek to send the Wikileaks founder to America, where he faces life in prison, after a lengthy court battle.
He is being held in a high security unit at Belmarsh prison and has been in custody since his eviction from the Ecuadorean embassy in 2019.
The Australian national sought refuge in the country’s London HQ in 2012 to avoid being sent to Sweden to sexual assault allegations.
Mr Assange, who has always strenuously denied any wrongdoing, claimed the charges were a pretext to send him to the US.
Prosecutors in the states say his high profile leaks of classified material put lives at risk and amounted to espionage, a charge which would carry a life sentence.
To Mr Assange’s supporters, the long-running effort to have him sent to prison is a politically motivated attack on freedom of expression.
His lawyers have argued the conditions he would be subjected to in a US jail amount to torture and extradition should be blocked because it would breach his human rights, as well as putting him at risk of suicide.

Read more: Priti Patel signs order to extradite Julian Assange to US over espionage charges

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U.K. Judge Denies Julian Assange’s Appeal to Block U.S. Extradition


A High Court judge in the United Kingdom has reportedly denied an appeal from Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange to block his extradition to the United States, where an 18-count indictment awaits him.
The Daily Mail’s Chris Pollard and Rebecca Camber first reported on the High Court’s private ruling, which is said to have come down on Monday. While Assange’s legal representation has until the end of the week to appeal the ruling, his lawyers have signaled he will not contest it, the report says.
In May 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury returned an 18-count superseding indictment against Assange for his alleged role in comprising troves of classified information. Specifically, the DOJ alleges that “Assange was complicit with Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, in unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defense.”
Assange and the Wikileaks databases allegedly received nearly half a million “activity reports” from Manning relating to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as well as Guantanamo Bay detainee briefs, and “[m]any of these documents were classified at the Secret level,” the DOJ asserted.
Assange had lived at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012 under diplomatic asylum and gained citizenship in the country before officials at the embassy invited British authorities inside to apprehend him in April 2019, months after it was reported the DOJ had a sealed indictment against him.


Read more: U.K. Judge Denies Julian Assange’s Appeal to Block U.S. Extradition

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FPF statement on rejection of Julian Assange’s extradition appeal


Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) is highly disappointed by the UK High Court’s rejection of Julian Assange’s appeal of his extradition to the United States on Espionage Act charges.

While Assange may still have additional legal remedies available to avoid extradition, it seems increasingly likely that it will be up to President Joe Biden, who recently proclaimed that “journalism is not a crime,” to do the right thing and end this Trump-era prosecution.

“The idea of Assange or anyone being tried in a U.S. court for obtaining and publishing confidential documents the same way investigative reporters do every day should be terrifying to all Americans,” said FPF Director of Advocacy Seth Stern.

As FPF Executive Director Trevor Timm has previously explained, anyone who values the First Amendment should staunchly oppose these charges no matter what they think of Assange or Wikileaks. The case is not about one individual, it’s about freedom of the press, and the government weaponizing the Espionage Act to criminalize routine newsgathering.

“If Biden lets this case proceed, future administrations will surely use the precedent of the Assange prosecution, and the unconstitutional authority to criminalize newsgathering that Biden is claiming, to go after journalists they don’t like,” said Stern.

“It’s time for Biden to drop this case and show the world he’s serious about press freedom.”

Read More: FPF statement on rejection of Julian Assange’s extradition appeal