WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange wins permission to appeal against US extradition
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People attend a protest outside the High Court on the day of an extradition hearing of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, in London on May 20, 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was given permission to have a full appeal over his extradition to the US after arguing at London’s High Court on May 20 that he might not be able to rely on his right to free speech at a trial.
Two judges at the High Court said they had given the Australian-born Assange leave to have a full appeal to hear his argument that he might be discriminated against on the basis that he is a foreign national.
Hundreds of protesters had gathered outside the court ahead of what was a key ruling after 13 years of legal battles, with two judges asked to declare whether they were satisfied by US assurances that Assange, 52, could rely on the First Amendment right if he is tried for spying in the US.
The news was met outside court by an eruption of cheering and singing. Assange’s legal team had said that if he lost, he could be on a plane across the Atlantic within 24 hours.
His lawyer, Mr Edward Fitzgerald, had told the judges they should not accept the assurance given by US prosecutors that Australian-born Assange could seek to rely upon the rights and protections given under the First Amendment, which covers freedom of speech and freedom of the press, as a US court would not be bound by this.
“We say this is a blatantly inadequate assurance,” he told the court.
Mr Fitzgerald had accepted a separate assurance that Assange would not face the death penalty, saying the US had provided an “unambiguous promise not to charge any capital offence”.
The US said its First Amendment assurance was sufficient. Mr James Lewis, representing the US authorities, said it made clear that Assange would not be discriminated against because of his nationality in any US trial or hearing.
Asaange’s legal team were buoyant after the decision was made. Mr Fitzgerald said it could be months before the appeal was heard.
Assange has been detained in the high-security Belmarsh Prison in London since April 2019.
He was arrested after spending seven years holed up in Ecuador’s London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faced accusations of sexual assault that were eventually dropped.
The US authorities want to put Assange on trial for divulging US military secrets about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He is accused of publishing some 700,000 confidential documents relating to US military and diplomatic activities, starting in 2010.
The US has accused Assange under the 1917 Espionage Act, which his supporters warn mean he could be sentenced to 175 years in prison.
UK courts approved the extradition request after the US vowed that Assange would not go to its most extreme prison, ADX Florence, nor to subject him to the harsh regime known as Special Administrative Measures.
The US indicted Assange multiple times between 2018 and 2020, but President Joe Biden has faced domestic and international pressure to drop the case filed under his predecessor Donald Trump.
Mr Biden indicated recently that the US was considering an Australian request to drop the charges
