Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will not be extradited to the USA for the time being and will be given a new chance to appeal. The responsible court in London ruled on Tuesday that Assange cannot be extradited without certain guarantees from the US government. The US government now has three weeks to deliver these guarantees.
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The court had to decide whether Assange would be allowed to appeal again before a British court against the extradition that had already been decided. After the hearing in February, the chamber took further time to weigh the arguments of the US government and Assange's lawyers.
Court demands guarantees
The defense put forward a total of nine arguments, six of which the chamber rejected as hopeless. The remaining three points concern Assange's rights in a US court. The London court shares the defense's fears that Assange, as an Australian citizen, does not have the same rights in a US court as a US citizen.
Specifically, the US government must provide credible assurances that Assange can invoke the First Amendment, which guarantees the right to free speech, in a US court. Furthermore, the USA must guarantee that Assange will not suffer any legal disadvantages because he is not a US citizen and that the death penalty is off the table.
The American side now has three weeks to submit these guarantees. On May 20th, the court will decide whether the guarantees are sufficient. Only then could Assange actually be extradited. If the court considers the guarantees to be insufficient, it will allow a new appeal in Great Britain.
With the decision of the appeal court (PDF of the press release), the proceedings surrounding the extradition of Assange are entering a further round. Until the final decision is made, Assange must remain in the high-security Belmarsh prison, where he has been imprisoned since 2019.
There is a risk of a long prison sentence
At the same time, Assange still has the option of appealing to the European Court of Human Rights. However, proceedings before this court do not automatically have a suspensive effect on possible extradition. There have also recently been reports that Assange's defense is negotiating a deal with the US plaintiffs.
The Americans accuse Assange of revealing secrets. The accusation is that Assange endangered the lives of US citizens by publishing secret documents. Assange's lawyers reject the allegations and accuse the USA of political persecution of their client. Assange faces a long prison sentence in the USA. While the possible maximum sentence for all charges totals 175 years, an actual conviction is likely to be lower.
Update
26.03.2024,
13:48
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Stella Assange, Julian Assange's wife and lawyer, called the court's decision “astonishing.” The court recognized that Assange's basic rights were restricted and that he was still threatened with the death penalty. Nevertheless, the court decided to invite the United States to further political intervention. “To send a letter saying everything is okay,” Stella Assange said outside the courthouse on Tuesday. “I find this astonishing. After five years of this process, the United States has once again proven to the court that their case is an attack on freedom of the press and on Julian's life.”
(vbr)