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If convicted in the United States, Assange will face decades in prison, according to his lawyers. The United States accuses him, among other things, of violating an espionage law. About ten years ago, Assange had published hundreds of thousands of secret American reports and diplomatic cables that he received from informants on his WikiLeaks platform. According to American researchers, the native Australian is considered an enemy of the state. To his followers, on the other hand, he is a hero who has exposed America’s abuse of power and misconduct in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Eternal fight over Assange
The legal dispute over Assange began when Sweden filed an extradition request in Britain on rape allegations against the WikiLeaks founder. To avoid extradition, Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012 and lived there for seven years. In 2019, however, his asylum was withdrawn. Since then, the Swedish procedure has been suspended. However, in the UK, Assange has been charged with bail violations. Therefore, he was arrested and transferred to a maximum security prison in London.
No extradition to the US.
On Monday, Baraitser ruled that Assange should not be extradited to the United States because there were concerns that he might commit suicide. In the isolation of a maximum security prison in the United States, Assange’s mental health threatens to suffer so much that he could take his life. Assange, who had been diagnosed with autism and Asperger syndrome, had repeatedly suffered from severe depression and had suicidal thoughts with medical professionals.
WikiLeaks founder remains in detention
Assange’s partner Stella Moris, who has two children with the 49-year-old man, was disappointed on Wednesday that the WikiLeaks founder was not released. He called on the United States Department of Justice to drop the allegations and asked the President of the United States to pardon Assange.
Assange has been detained in Belmarsh, southeast London, for 15 months. Critics harshly criticize conditions at the maximum security prison. Attorney Edmund Fitzgerald noted in court that there had been a strong crown outbreak in Assange’s cell block. Judge Baraitser, however, citing current figures from the prison administration, emphasized that only three prisoners are currently infected.
Criticism: imprisonment is an act of arbitrariness
Regarding her first verdict, the judge said: “In fairness, the United States must be allowed to challenge my decision and if Mr. Assange escapes during the trial, they will lose the opportunity to do so.” Assange still has a huge network that he can rely on if he wants to go underground, he explained his decision.
The human rights organization Amnesty International criticized the sentence. “Today’s decision to deny Julian Assange bail turns his continued detention into an act of arbitrariness and exacerbates the fact that he has been detained under harsh conditions in Belmarsh maximum security prison for over a year,” said European Director of Amnesty. , Nils Muiznieks, according to a broadcast from his organization. “It is clear that Julian Assange should not have been arrested in the first place. The accusations against him are politically motivated and the British government should never have so willingly supported the United States in its relentless persecution of Assange.”
The journalists’ organization Reporters Without Borders also harshly criticized the verdict. The judge’s verdict was “an unnecessarily cruel decision,” tweeted the organization’s London representative, Rebecca Vincent. “Assange should not be unjustifiably deprived of his liberty for one more moment.”
However, Reporters Without Borders expects a positive outcome from the trial. “It is highly unlikely that a US appointment will be successful,” Vincent said even before the new ruling by the German press agency (dpa). “I don’t see what new arguments the lawyers could present in court.” She hopes that after she takes office, President-elect Biden will be able to solve Assange’s prosecution. Biden will be sworn in on January 20 in the US, thus ending the era of Donald Trump.
Criticism of the ruling also came from the Austrian Journalists Club (ÖJC). “The Austrian federal government is now called in. As a neutral state with an excellent healthcare system, Austria should offer political and humanitarian asylum to Assange to save the life of WikiLeaks founder,” ÖJC president Fred Turnheim said, according to a transmission. Attorney Fitzgerald had also asked for release on family grounds. “It is the first opportunity to live with their young children,” he said. Assange and his partner have two children who were born during their nearly seven-year stay at the Ecuadorian embassy.
The verdict is a success for the United States. His judicial representative, Clair Dobbin, had successfully warned against release from prison. “He has shown that he can take on a lot of himself to avoid extradition,” he said, referring to offers of aid and asylum, especially from Latin American countries like Mexico more recently. Dobbin said that Assange took advantage of the trust of those who had trusted him. He considers himself above the law.
(Source: Apa / Reuters / dpa)
