Julian Assange’s wife says he will “die” if extradited to the US.
The US is attempting to convict Julian Assange under the 1917 Espionage Act. (file)
London:
Julian Assange’s wife said Thursday she would die if the WikiLeaks founder was extradited to the United States, ahead of his latest appeal against Britain’s verdict.
Assange, 52, is wanted in the US on espionage charges and has been held in the high-security Belmarsh prison in south-east London since April 2019.
Stella Assange told a news conference that if her husband loses the appeal he could fly to the US “within a few days”, with a two-day hearing at the High Court set to begin next Tuesday.
The situation is “extremely serious”, he said, as his mental and physical health is in “decline”. “He will die if he is extradited,” he said.
Julian Assange was arrested after spending seven years in Ecuador’s London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faced sexual assault charges that were eventually dropped.
US authorities want to prosecute an Australian publisher for revealing US military secrets about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Two judges at London’s High Court will hear Assange’s request to be allowed to appeal a recent ruling approving his extradition. Last June the single judge had refused permission to appeal.
But if his appeal is successful, Assange will have further opportunities to argue his case before UK domestic courts, with a date to be set for a full appeal hearing.
If he loses, all his UK appeals will be exhausted and he will enter the extradition process, although his team have said they will appeal in European courts.
‘Anti-press epidemic’
The UK is part of the European Court of Human Rights and it is within the court’s power to order a stay on extradition. However these are only given in “exceptional circumstances”.
It would also require the UK government to accept the order, which is uncertain given its ongoing dispute with the European Court of Justice after blocking plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Assange is accused of publishing approximately 700,000 classified documents related to US military and diplomatic activities starting in 2010.
The US is attempting to convict Assange under the 1917 Espionage Act, which his supporters have warned could result in a prison sentence of up to 175 years.
UK courts approved the extradition request after the US vowed not to imprison him in its most extreme prison, “ADX Florence”, nor subject him to a harsh regime known as “special administrative measures”.
But WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristin Hrafnsson said on Thursday that the caveats included in the promises mean they are “not worth the paper they are written on”.
He said the impact of the case on the future of press freedom “cannot be underestimated”.
“No journalist anywhere is safe, including you in the room today,” he said, talking about the “anti-press epidemic” spreading around the world.
Assange’s wife Stella said that she had “learned not to be optimistic” before court decisions and was afraid of the possible outcome.
She said, “If Julian is extradited he will be put into a hole so far away and so deep in the ground that I don’t think I’ll ever see him again.”
It is not yet known whether the decision will be delivered immediately after next week’s hearing, or whether it will be reserved – nor whether Assange will be allowed to appear in person.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)