A US lawyer on Wednesday rejected claims that the US was persecuting Assange because of his political views. Instead, Clair Dobbin argued that Assange put others in danger by publishing unredacted documents. It was not a “mistake” or “error”, but rather huge amounts of uncensored material were published.
On Wednesday, in front of the Royal Courts of Justice in London, protesters again demanded Assange's release. They held a banner and posters with slogans such as “Free Assange” and “Journalism is not a crime”.
If Assange's appeal is rejected in London, he will still have to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. His wife, Stella Assange, announced that her team would immediately file a request for an injunction to prevent immediate extradition. Stella Assange also said in advance that she feared for his life because of the expected harsh prison conditions in the US and her husband's unstable psyche.
It was initially unclear when exactly a decision would be made on the appeal. However, Assange's wife fears the 52-year-old could be put on a plane to the US within days.
The German government indirectly spoke out against Assange's extradition to the USA. “It is true that we see discrepancies between our understanding of the law and the legal understanding of the United States of America,” a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said in Berlin on Wednesday, referring to the balance between press law and the betrayal of secrets. . “The federal government is also expressing the different legal positions in this very specific case very clearly and clearly to the contact persons, that is, the contact persons in the United States and the United Kingdom,” she explained. The points for which Assange is accused in the USA are not punishable in Germany.
The US Department of Justice wants to try Assange on espionage charges. The US government accuses him of having, together with US whistleblower Chelsea Manning, stolen and published secret material from US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, thus putting the lives of US informants in danger. Supporters, on the other hand, see Assange as a journalist who brought war crimes to light. The Australian has been in Belmarsh maximum security prison in London since his arrest in April 2019.