International

US Wins Appeal Over Extradition Of WikiLeaks Founder Assange

Published

3 years ago

Dec 11, 2021.

A UK judge said he was satisfied with a package of assurances given by the US about the conditions of the detention of Assange…

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the United States government has won an appeal at Britain’s High Court over the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Friday’s ruling, which overturns an earlier decision, means 50-year-old Assange may now be closer to being sent from London’s high-security Belmarsh prison to the US, where he would face spying charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of secret military documents a decade ago.

A UK judge said he was satisfied with a package of assurances given by the US about the conditions of the detention of Assange, who watched the proceedings via video link from Belmarsh prison.

These included a pledge not to hold him in a so-called “ADX” maximum security prison and that he could be transferred to Australia, where he holds citizenship, to serve his sentence if convicted.

The UK court said that US assurances were enough to guarantee Assange would be treated humanely and directed a lower court judge to send the extradition request to the home secretary, Priti Patel, for review.

Patel, who oversees law enforcement in the United Kingdom, will make the final choice on whether to extradite Assange.

Further hurdles remain before Assange could be sent to the US, and the legal wrangling will go to the Supreme Court, the United Kingdom’s final court of appeal.

“It is highly disturbing that a UK court has overturned a decision not to extradite Julian Assange, accepting vague assurances by the United States government,” said Assange’s lawyer, Barry Pollack. “Mr. Assange will seek review of this decision by the UK Supreme Court.”

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