Julian Assange can be extradited to US to face espionage charges, court rules

[EnterpriseSovereign]

UK court approves extradition of Julian Assange to US.

A court has formally approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the US on espionage charges, in what will ultimately be a decision for the UK home secretary, Priti Patel.

The Wikileaks co-founder, who has the right of appeal, appeared by videolink during the Westminster magistrates court hearing, which one of his barristers described as a “brief but significant moment in the case”.

Mark Summers QC, for Assange, told the chief magistrate that he had no option but to send the case to the home secretary. It was not open, at this point, for Assange’s team to raise fresh evidence but there had been “fresh developments”, he added.

Summers said “serious submissions” would be made to the home secretary regarding US sentencing and conditions.

The brief hearing was taking place after the supreme court last month refused Assange’s appeal against his extradition. He had sought to challenge a judgment by the high court in December that ruled he could be extradited after assurances from the US authorities with regard to his prison conditions there.

An extradition order was issued by the chief magistrate, Paul Goldspring, during the seven-minute hearing.

Goldspring told Assange: “In layman’s terms, I am duty bound to send your case to the secretary of state for a decision.”

As well as being able to make submissions to Patel, Assange’s lawyers can also access other routes to fight his extradition. This could include mounting a challenge on other issues of law raised at first instance on which he lost and have not yet been subject to appeal.

Assange, wearing a jacket and tie, appeared via a video link from Belmarsh prison, where he was married last month to his partner, Stella Moris, and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth.

Moris was in the public gallery at Westminster magistrates court, where a large crowd of supporters gathered outside, including the former Labour party leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

Corbyn said he hoped the home secretary would recognise her “huge responsibility” to stand up for free speech, journalism and democracy and release Assange.

“He has done no more than tell the world about military planning, military policies and the horrors of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and I think he deserves to be thanked,” he told reporters.

Let's hope Priti does something right for once and doesn't drag her feet on this one.

[Crazedwraith]

Julian Assange can be extradited, says UK home secretary

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition to the US has been approved by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Mr Assange has 14 days to appeal over the decision, the Home Office said.

It said the courts found extradition would not be "incompatible with his human rights" and that while in the US "he will be treated appropriately".

Mr Assange is wanted by the American authorities over documents leaked in 2010 and 2011, which the US says broke the law and endangered lives.

The Wikileaks documents related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The Australian is being held at Belmarsh prison in London after mounting a lengthy battle to avoid being extradited.

Extradition allows one country to ask another to hand over a suspect to face trial.

Responding to the home secretary's order, Wikileaks confirmed it would appeal against her decision.

Mr Assange's wife, Stella, said her husband had done "nothing wrong" and "he has committed no crime".

"He is a journalist and a publisher, and he is being punished for doing his job," she said.

Media company Wikileaks is a whistle-blowing platform that publishes classified material provided by anonymous sources.

In May 2019, while serving a jail sentence in the UK for breaching bail, the US justice department filed 17 charges against Mr Assange for violating the Espionage Act - alleging that material obtained by Wikileaks endangered lives.

Mr Assange's legal team claimed classified documents published by Wikileaks, which related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, exposed US wrongdoing and were in the public interest.

Those documents revealed how the US military had killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents during the war in Afghanistan, while leaked Iraq war files showed 66,000 civilians had been killed, and prisoners tortured, by Iraqi forces.

Mr Assange has been in prison since he was removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2019 and arrested by British police, after Ecuador withdrew his asylum status.

He sought asylum in 2012 in the embassy, fearing US prosecution, and stayed there for seven years. He claimed he was a victim of human rights abuses and would face a life sentence if extradited.

The Supreme Court ruled in March that Mr Assange's case raised no legal questions over assurances the US had given to the UK about how he was likely to be treated.

Previously UK judges blocked his extradition because of concerns about his mental health.
Amnesty International said enabling the extradition to take place "would put him at great risk and sends a chilling message to journalists".

"Diplomatic assurances provided by the US that Assange will not be kept in solitary confinement cannot be taken on face value given previous history," general secretary Agnes Callamard said.

Former government minister David Davis said he did not believe Mr Assange would have a fair trial in the US.

"This extradition treaty needs to be rewritten to give British and American citizens identical rights, unlike now," he said.

A Home Office spokesperson said under the Extradition Act 2003 the secretary of state "must sign" an extradition order if there were "no grounds to prohibit the order being made".

"The UK courts have not found that it would be oppressive, unjust or an abuse of process to extradite Mr Assange," the Home Office added.

Of course she did. I'm surprised her ruling can be appealed even further tbh after the many court hearings it's already had.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Julian Assange can be extradited, says UK home secretary

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition to the US has been approved by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Mr Assange has 14 days to appeal over the decision, the Home Office said.

It said the courts found extradition would not be "incompatible with his human rights" and that while in the US "he will be treated appropriately".

Mr Assange is wanted by the American authorities over documents leaked in 2010 and 2011, which the US says broke the law and endangered lives.

The Wikileaks documents related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The Australian is being held at Belmarsh prison in London after mounting a lengthy battle to avoid being extradited.

Extradition allows one country to ask another to hand over a suspect to face trial.

Responding to the home secretary's order, Wikileaks confirmed it would appeal against her decision.

Mr Assange's wife, Stella, said her husband had done "nothing wrong" and "he has committed no crime".

"He is a journalist and a publisher, and he is being punished for doing his job," she said.

Media company Wikileaks is a whistle-blowing platform that publishes classified material provided by anonymous sources.

In May 2019, while serving a jail sentence in the UK for breaching bail, the US justice department filed 17 charges against Mr Assange for violating the Espionage Act - alleging that material obtained by Wikileaks endangered lives.

Mr Assange's legal team claimed classified documents published by Wikileaks, which related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, exposed US wrongdoing and were in the public interest.

Those documents revealed how the US military had killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents during the war in Afghanistan, while leaked Iraq war files showed 66,000 civilians had been killed, and prisoners tortured, by Iraqi forces.

Mr Assange has been in prison since he was removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2019 and arrested by British police, after Ecuador withdrew his asylum status.

He sought asylum in 2012 in the embassy, fearing US prosecution, and stayed there for seven years. He claimed he was a victim of human rights abuses and would face a life sentence if extradited.

The Supreme Court ruled in March that Mr Assange's case raised no legal questions over assurances the US had given to the UK about how he was likely to be treated.

Previously UK judges blocked his extradition because of concerns about his mental health.
Amnesty International said enabling the extradition to take place "would put him at great risk and sends a chilling message to journalists".

"Diplomatic assurances provided by the US that Assange will not be kept in solitary confinement cannot be taken on face value given previous history," general secretary Agnes Callamard said.

Former government minister David Davis said he did not believe Mr Assange would have a fair trial in the US.

"This extradition treaty needs to be rewritten to give British and American citizens identical rights, unlike now," he said.

A Home Office spokesperson said under the Extradition Act 2003 the secretary of state "must sign" an extradition order if there were "no grounds to prohibit the order being made".

"The UK courts have not found that it would be oppressive, unjust or an abuse of process to extradite Mr Assange," the Home Office added.

Of course she did. I'm surprised her ruling can be appealed even further tbh after the many court hearings it's already had.

As I predicted, she dragged her feet, taking two months to say yes. Should just hand him over then he's America's problem.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Julian Assange lands in Australia a free man after decades-long WikiLeaks battle

Julian Assange has arrived back in Australia after a decades-long battle against the US government over exposing the country's military secrets.

He was welcomed at Canberra Airport by his wife Stella, as well as a crowd of supporters, who cheered as he disembarked the jet.

Assange did not appear at the press conference arranged for after his arrival, but his wife Stella and two of his lawyers made statements in his place.

"He wanted to be here but you have to understand what he's been through. He needs time, he needs to recuperate and this is a process," Stella said.

"I ask you please to give us space to give us privacy," she added. "I want Julian to have that space to rediscover freedom."

Stella said that her husband would speak publicly "at a time of his choosing".

In an earlier conversation with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Assange said it was "surreal" to have landed in his home country, adding that he was “looking forward to playing with his children”.

One of Assange's lawyers, Jennifer Robinson, described the result as "a huge win for Australia and Australian democracy".

More than 56,000 users were tracking the flight on online tracker FlightRadar24 as it landed in the capital Canberra at 7.37pm local time (10.37am UK).

Among those greeting him was his father John Shipton, who hugged his son before he gave one final wave and entered a nearby building.

It comes after the WikiLeaks founder pleaded guilty to obtaining and publishing US military secrets during a three-hour hearing in a court on the US Commonwealth island of Saipan.

The US Justice Department agreed to hold the hearing on the remote island, in the Pacific Ocean, far east of the Philippines, because Assange refused to travel to the US.

Saipan was also selected because it is near Assange's home in Australia.

The Free Julian Assange Campaign is crowdfunding to cover the cost of the flight, which it says cost $520,000 (£411,000), which he now owes to the Australian government.

The crowdfunding page had garnered more than £360,000-worth of donations online at the time of writing.

His wife Stella has said she “can’t stop crying” after Assange walked free from a US court in the early hours of Wednesday, UK time.

Alongside a photo of the WikiLeaks founder leaving the court in Saipan, she wrote on X: “Julian walks out of Saipan federal court a free man. I can’t stop crying.”

The court case marks the final chapter in Assange's battle with the US, which prosecuted him under the Espionage Act, over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose confidential military records.

The two parties came to an abrupt agreement on Monday evening.

The White House was not involved in the decision to resolve Assange’s case, according to an official who spoke to The Associated Press.

Within the deal, Assange was to admit every single felony count put against him - but that meant he could walk free, rather than face time in a US prison, and then return home to Australia without supervision.

"You will be able to walk out of this courtroom a free man," Judge Manglona said to Assange before proceedings wrapped up in the court.

Assange's longest-serving lawyer said the case was a win for free speech.

The WikiLeaks founder had faced 18 counts from a 2019 indictment, which his supporters claimed carried a maximum sentence of up to 175 years in prison.

Assange was charged over the release of over 391,000 unredacted US military reports, which covered the war in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2004 to 2009, on his website WikiLeaks.

This included Assange's first headline-hitting video, which showed a US airstrike in Baghdad that killed 18 people, including civilians and two Reuters journalists, during the Iraq War, filmed from a helicopter cockpit.

Espionage, deals and Wikileaks: The rise, fall and freedom of Julian Assange

Some of the war files were reportedly passed to him by US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, on a CD she disguised as a collection of Lady Gaga songs.

The files, which were also published extensively by the Guardian, listed civilian deaths, torture of enemy fighters by the US, and evidence that American special forces hunted down Taliban leaders for "kill or capture" without trial.

He then leaked thousands of messages between US diplomats, including Hilary Clinton.

While many hailed his work as fighting for free speech, Assange was criticised for putting people's lives at risk, as the unredacted files revealed the names of local Afghans and Iraqis who passed information to US forces.

Opinion also began to turn against Assange, after two women from Sweden alleged he sexually assaulted them during a conference in the country.

After being granted political asylum, he spent seven years inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face the courts for the claims. There were fears he would then be extradited to the US if he left.

Assange had been in London's Belmarsh prison since he was removed from the Ecuadorian embassy by police in 2019 for breaching his bail conditions.

In March, the High Court in London ruled that Assange could not be extradited to the US on espionage charges unless American authorities guaranteed that he would not receive the death penalty.

Last month, Assange won his bid at the High Court which ruled Assange had the right to appeal his final challenge against extradition to the United States.

Thank FUCK that's over.

[Solauren]

But is it really?
If anything happens to him now, people will go OMGUSConspiracy!

There is also the fact he made a plea bargin. Who knows who he informed on.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

We have the broken legal system to blame for how many years it took to get to this point, he should have been sent either to the USA or back to his native Australia long ago.