Tomorrow, Tuesday, it will be decided whether Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against his extradition to the US or not. The US government wants to try the Australian on espionage charges. He faces a prison sentence of up to 175 years.
Assange is accused of stealing and publishing classified material about US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with whistleblower Chelsea Manning. This would have endangered the lives of informants. However, Assange faces criminal charges for his journalistic activities. The London High Court’s ruling is expected at 11.30am CET.
Last chance
Assange hopes for a full appeal process. It would be the last chance to challenge his extradition in the British courts. If the application is rejected, his only option is to go to the European Court of Human Rights. His wife Stella Assange announced that his team would immediately file a request for a preliminary injunction.
However, there are fears that the British government could ignore such an order. The 52-year-old, who has been in London’s high-security prison since April 2019, could be put on a plane to the US within days, Stella Assange has warned.
Labile Psyche
She fears for his life due to the expected harsh prison conditions in the US and her husband’s unstable psyche. The risk of suicide was also the reason that a judge initially rejected the extradition in the first instance. However, the decision was later overturned. The British government agreed to extradite him to the US. A two-day hearing about this took place in February.
Source: Krone
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