The fate of the Wikileaks founder remains in limbo. The High Court in London is demanding assurances from the US before extradition that Julian Assange’s right to expression will be respected and that he will not face the death penalty.
Assange supporters demonstrate in front of the High Court in London against extradition of the Wikileaks founder to the USA.
Leon Neal / Getty
The legal saga surrounding Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was extended by another chapter on Tuesday. The High Court in London has in one written judgment decided that Assange should not be extradited immediately to the USA.
In the USA he faces a trial and possibly a long prison sentence for violating American anti-espionage legislation. Assange is accused, for example, of stealing secret material from American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with whistleblower Chelsea Manning and publishing it on the Wikileaks platform.
The then British Home Secretary Priti Patel decided in 2022 to grant the extradition request from the USA. But Assange, who has been in a high-security prison in London since 2019, is fighting the extradition with all means and demanded a last chance for an appeal in February. The responsible judges at the High Court now found that Assange actually had legitimate reasons for further appeal in three out of nine points.
USA should provide guarantees
Instead of granting Assange’s appeal, the judges are calling on the British Home Office and the USA to provide additional assurances within three weeks. The American authorities should guarantee that Assange will enjoy the constitutional right to freedom of expression in the USA and that as an Australian citizen he will not have to endure any restrictions in this regard. In addition, the High Court is demanding guarantees that Assange will not face the death penalty in the US.
However, the judges did not accept Assange’s core argument that he was being persecuted by Washington for his political opinions. They also followed the American arguments and found that there were good reasons to believe that Assange had violated the principles of responsible journalism. The USA explained that he had not behaved like a journalist, but had instead endangered the lives of American informants in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, China and Iran by publishing unedited secret documents.
The High Court has scheduled another hearing for May 20. A decision should then be made as to whether the assurances from the USA exist and are sufficient. If Assange were actually given the right to appeal, the extradition process would take another loop with an uncertain outcome.
If the court considers the assurances to be sufficient and agrees to the extradition, Assange would have exhausted all legal remedies in Great Britain. His only option would be to go to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. However, the ECHR only intervenes in such extradition proceedings in exceptional cases.
Chance of a comparison?
At an appearance at the courthouse in London, Assange’s wife Stella described the High Court’s decision as upsetting. She called on American President Joe Biden not to give cheap assurances but to stop the process entirely. In recent weeks, Stella Assange has repeatedly pointed out her husband’s fragile mental and physical health and said he would not survive extradition to the USA.
There may still be a chance of a way out. Last week reported the Wall Street Journal, The American government is considering offering Assange a settlement. According to the information, the Wikileaks founder would plead guilty to mishandling secret documents, which would be a lesser offense.
In return, the US would drop charges of violating draconian anti-espionage legislation. According to the report, Assange may agree to the London settlement. He might then be released, as he has already spent five years behind bars in London. So far, however, these speculations have not been confirmed. Assange’s legal representatives said last week that they had no indication that Washington wanted to change its strategy in the criminal proceedings against Assange.