Activist groups say the appeal is the most important press freedom case of the 21st century.
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Supporters of the WikiLeaks founder gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday chanting “free Julian Assange”.
In January, Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled that Mr Assange should not be extradited due to his poor mental health.
The US Justice Department want Mr Assange on 18 criminal charges over the publication of thousands of classified files between 2010 and 2011.
17 of the charges Mr Assange faces are under the Espionage Act. Maya Bowles for City News
The publications include the release of footage showing US soldiers shooting Iraqi civilians from a helicopter during the Iraq War.
The US Government claim the leaks broke the law and put lives at risk. The WikiLeaks founder strongly denies this.
Judge Baraitser had agreed that Mr Assange had committed a criminal offence through the publication of the material. However, she argued he should not be extradited because he would likely commit suicide in a US prison.
Incarcerated Assange: “Very thin”
Mr Assange has spent the last two and a half years in Belmarsh Prison. He’d previously sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy.
On Wednesday morning, he told the court he was too unwell to appear via video link. Later in the day though he did make an appearance, noticeably holding his head in his hands.
Tim Dawson, Executive Member at the National Union of Journalists, was inside the courtroom and said that on the video Mr Assange looked “very thin”. Mr Assange’s father, John Shipton, said that he had “never seen him look so unwell”.
Mr Shipton has previously claimed that his son was “being subjected to every sort of torment” at Belmarsh.
One of the protesters said that the treatment of Assange in the UK has made him “ashamed to be British”.
Judge Baraitser ruled on January 4 that Assange’s mental health was such that it would be “oppressive to extradite him”. Maya Bowles for City News
The US have delivered a package of assurances that they said would minimise Mr Assange’s suicide risk in a US prison. They said he would not be held under the strictest maximum-security conditions and could serve some time in Australia.
Supporters of Assange outside the court also highlighted Sigurdur Thordarson’s recent actions as proof of Assange’s innocence.
Thordarson worked at WikiLeaks before becoming an FBI informant. However, he now says that the testimony attributed to him by the FBI was “a mistake”.
Protestors’ signs outside the Royal Courts of Justice claimed that the “USA bribed Thordarson to lie”.
If the appeal is successful, Mr Assange could face a maximum of 175 years in prison in the US.
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HeadlineProtestors gather during Assange US extradition appeal
Short HeadlineActivists rally outside Assange trial
StandfirstThe United States Government is beginning a two-day legal appeal to extradite Julian Assange
Supporters of the WikiLeaks founder gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday chanting “free Julian Assange”.
In January, Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled that Mr Assange should not be extradited due to his poor mental health.
The US Justice Department want Mr Assange on 18 criminal charges over the publication of thousands of classified files between 2010 and 2011.
17 of the charges Mr Assange faces are under the Espionage Act. Maya Bowles for City News
The publications include the release of footage showing US soldiers shooting Iraqi civilians from a helicopter during the Iraq War.
The US Government claim the leaks broke the law and put lives at risk. The WikiLeaks founder strongly denies this.
Judge Baraitser had agreed that Mr Assange had committed a criminal offence through the publication of the material. However, she argued he should not be extradited because he would likely commit suicide in a US prison.
Incarcerated Assange: “Very thin”
Mr Assange has spent the last two and a half years in Belmarsh Prison. He’d previously sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy.
On Wednesday morning, he told the court he was too unwell to appear via video link. Later in the day though he did make an appearance, noticeably holding his head in his hands.
Tim Dawson, Executive Member at the National Union of Journalists, was inside the courtroom and said that on the video Mr Assange looked “very thin”. Mr Assange’s father, John Shipton, said that he had “never seen him look so unwell”.
Mr Shipton has previously claimed that his son was “being subjected to every sort of torment” at Belmarsh.
One of the protesters said that the treatment of Assange in the UK has made him “ashamed to be British”.
Judge Baraitser ruled on January 4 that Assange’s mental health was such that it would be “oppressive to extradite him”. Maya Bowles for City News
The US have delivered a package of assurances that they said would minimise Mr Assange’s suicide risk in a US prison. They said he would not be held under the strictest maximum-security conditions and could serve some time in Australia.
Supporters of Assange outside the court also highlighted Sigurdur Thordarson’s recent actions as proof of Assange’s innocence.
Thordarson worked at WikiLeaks before becoming an FBI informant. However, he now says that the testimony attributed to him by the FBI was “a mistake”.
Protestors’ signs outside the Royal Courts of Justice claimed that the “USA bribed Thordarson to lie”.
If the appeal is successful, Mr Assange could face a maximum of 175 years in prison in the US.
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