WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will not be extradited to the United States. That has been determined by a British court. According to the judge, the risk is too great that Assange would commit suicide on extradition.
Assange (49) has been trying for years to stay out of the hands of the American justice, which wants him sue for espionage due to the publication of confidential documents. According to American media, the founder of the well-known whistleblower site risks a prison sentence of 175 years.
British police arrested Assange in 2019, when he had been in hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years. That South American country pulled its hands off the WikiLeaks founder in 2019. Assange is still detained in Belmarsh London prison.
Lawyers for the Australian argue that Assange acted as a journalist and can claim freedom of expression. They point out that by leaking the documents he exposed military abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Appeal possible
Although the British judge has now ruled that Assange will not be extradited, the end of the legal wrangling is not yet in sight. The US has announced that it will appeal the ruling. Assange can oppose a ruling again. Ultimately, the British Home Secretary will take the plunge.
Assange’s supporters, meanwhile, hope that US President Donald Trump will step in and pardon him. The new US president, Joe Biden, may also decide to drop prosecution after taking office on January 20. It is unclear whether he feels that way. Biden once called him a “high-tech terrorist”.
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