London (AFP) – United States lawyers on Wednesday denied political motivations behind the extradition request against Julian Assange on espionage charges in a London trial examining the WikiLeaks founder's appeal against his surrender.
First change: 02/23/2024 – 4:12 p.m. Last change: 02/23/2024 – 4:10 p.m
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The judges said they would take their time deliberating, so after the two-day hearing that ended on Wednesday, Assange may have to wait weeks or months to find out whether his appeal will be accepted by the UK judiciary becomes.
On the final day of the hearing, U.S. attorneys tried to address the defense's arguments made the previous day that the allegations against their client, who has been in a high-security prison near London for nearly five years, had a political basis.
Assange is wanted in the United States in his last resort to avoid extradition in the United Kingdom for publishing more than 700,000 classified documents since 2010 about the North American country's military and diplomatic activities, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan .
“The allegations are based on the rule of law and the evidence” against Assange, one of the US government's lawyers, Clair Dobbin, told the High Court of Justice in London.
The WikiLeaks founder appealed the British government's decision agreeing to extradite him to the US in 2022.
If he is handed over, he could face up to 175 years in prison.
The 52-year-old Australian did not appear on the second and final day of the trial after feeling unwell the day before.
“It indiscriminately and knowingly published to the world the names of people who served as sources of information for the United States,” Dobbin said, adding that this fact distinguished it from other media companies.
“It is these facts that set him apart, not his political views,” he said.
Assange's defense on Tuesday relied on freedom of information as the basis of its defense.
U.S. attorneys responded Wednesday that Assange had “put lives in danger.”
A sticker with a message for the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, photographed on February 21, 2024, outside the High Court of Justice in London, which is considering his appeal against his extradition to the US © Daniel Leal / AFP
“By publishing this information on the WikiLeaks website, you created a serious and imminent threat to the human sources named there, who could have suffered serious physical harm,” they said.
Decision at a later date
After the hearing, two judges, Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson, will decide at an unspecified date whether the United Kingdom extradites the WikiLeaks founder to the United States.
The NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) emphasized that “we heard nothing new from the legal representation of the US government in this hearing.”
“Instead of addressing the compelling arguments made by the defense the day before, they stuck to their claim that Assange's actions were not journalistic activity and that he would get a fair trial,” RSF added.
If Assange is successful in this trial, he will likely face another hearing in the UK to confirm that he will not be extradited.
If the London court confirms his extradition, Assange would have the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) as a last resort.
According to his lawyers, the founder of WikiLeaks would have two weeks until the extradition takes effect to lodge this appeal with the ECtHR.
Fragile health
His wife had warned about her husband's fragile health in the days before the trial.
A protester shows his support for Julian Assange outside the High Court of Justice in London on February 21, 2024, which is considering the WikiLeaks founder's appeal against his extradition to the United States © Adrian Dennis / AFP
“His health is deteriorating, both physically and mentally. His life is in danger every day he remains in prison and if he is extradited he will die,” Stella Assange said on Thursday.
The WikiLeaks founder was arrested by British police in 2019 after being held for seven years at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he sought refuge to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges. The charges were later dropped.
The North American appeal led to the British judiciary annulling the first decision in December 2021, paving the way for his extradition.
Assange's appeal was unsuccessful and in April 2022 a British court approved the extradition, which was accepted by the British government two months later.
© 2024 AFP