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The British government on Friday ordered the founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States on charges of espionage and hacking. Assange has 14 days to appeal the decision, the British Interior Ministry said.
Assange has been held in a London prison since 2019 after escaping arrest for seven years by seeking political asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy.
His lawyers say he is at high risk of suicide under the restrictions he may face while in custody in the United States.
The Home Office said in a statement that “UK courts have not found that Mr Assange’s extradition would be oppressive, unfair or abusive. They also did not find that the extradition would be incompatible with his human rights, including his right to a fair trial and freedom of expression, and that while in the United States he would be treated appropriately, including in relation to his health.
Priti Patel, the British Home Secretary, signed the extradition order. The Home Secretary is the last extradition body in the British system – although Assange has other legal avenues he can pursue to block the move, experts say his arrival in the United States is far from over.
The interior ministry said Assange “will be handed over to the requesting state only when all possibilities for litigation have been exhausted”.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange accused of violating the Espionage Act
In a statement, WikiLeaks condemned the extradition decision as a “dark day for press freedom and British democracy”, calling the Home Secretary “an accomplice of the United States on its agenda to turn investigative journalism into a criminal enterprise”.
The organization said Assange’s legal team would appeal: “Today is not the end of the battle. This is just the beginning of a new court battle. We will appeal through the legal system, the next appeal will be before the Supreme Court. “
Prior to his extradition, Assange could ask Britain’s highest court to hear more arguments or appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. Each court will have to agree to hear Assange’s appeal, which is not guaranteed.
As part of the extradition procedure, the British Supreme Court in December accepted assurances from the US government on specific security measures it will implement for Assange. The court declined to hear Assange’s appeal in March.
The Grand Jury in Virginia charged Assange with 18 counts, including conspiracy and disclosure of national defense. Prosecutors say he worked with former Army Chelsea Manning in 2010 to obtain and publish thousands of pages of military records and diplomatic telegrams about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The release of the information, according to officials, is life-threatening. Assange says he had rights as a journalist and publisher in seeking and disseminating information about controversial actions in the United States.
In January 2021, a British judge stopped Assange’s extradition, finding him a “depressed and sometimes desperate man who really fears for his future” and at high risk of suicide in lonely or severely restrictive conditions he may face. in custody in the United States. .
The US government then proposed not to impose “special administrative measures” on Assange and to keep him outside the Supermax federal prison in Florence, Colorado, pending trial, unless he does something in the future to deserve such restrictions. The US government has said it will allow it Assange is serving his sentence in Australia if convicted, and Australia has agreed. The government also offered to provide him with clinical and psychological treatment, following medical advice while he remained in custody.
Based on these assurances, the British Supreme Court allowed extradition to continue, noting that “the United Kingdom and the United States have a long history of cooperation on extradition issues, and the United States has often provided and invariably provided safeguards in the past. The court also noted that a witness summoned by Assange’s team during the trial admitted that the Alexandria Detention Center, where Assange could be detained in Virginia pending trial, was a well-run prison with a “star record”. “To prevent suicide.
Nick Vamos, a London-based extradition expert, said Patel’s decision was not in question after the court’s rulings, because “she has a very narrow judgment once her case is sent.”
But Assange can still persuade a higher court to assess his arguments that the US prosecutor’s office is politically motivated and violates his freedom of speech, Vamos said, predicting that “this will not be the end of the road for some time.”
Carla Adam contributed to this report.
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