Julian Assange has won a bid at the High Court to bring an appeal against his extradition to the United States.
Mr Assange’s lawyers have accepted an assurance that the US will not seek the death penalty if the WikiLeaks founder is extradited and convicted, the High Court has heard.
He faces prosecution in the US over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars in 2010.
Hundreds of supporters were gathered outside the High Court this morning ahead of the decision. This decision means that Mr Assange has the right to appeal against his extradition.
He had been granted permission to appeal only if President Biden’s administration was unable to provide the court with suitable assurances that he would not face the death penalty, face prejudice based on his nationality – he is Australian – and be guaranteed the same first amendment protections as a US citizen.
So, who is Julian Assange and what legal battle is he fighting?
Julian Assange greets supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, May 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Julian Assange is an Australian citizen who founded and ran the website, WikiLeaks. It was designed to support whistleblowers by encrypting data so leaks could not be traced back to individuals.
He has been involved in 14 years of legal controversy involving the governments of the US, UK, Ecuador and Sweden.
In 2010, a series of official US Army intelligence documents relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan appeared on the website WikiLeaks. This leak included airstrike footage, military logs, and diplomatic cables.
Later that year, prosecutors in Sweden issued a warrant for Julian’s arrest over rape and molestation allegations. Julian had been in the country at the time but left for the UK and when an international arrest warrant was granted.
After two years of legal debate an extradition order to Sweden was confirmed. Mr Assange then sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK, where he spent the next seven years having been granted asylum. The Swedish charges were later dropped.
In April 2019, following a series of disputes with Ecuadorian authorities and a change in attitudes toward Wikileaks within the Ecuadorian government, Mr Assange was arrested by British Police and sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching bail.
Since his arrest on 11 April 2019, Assange has been incarcerated in HM Prison Belmarsh in London.
In May 2019 and June 2020, the US government indicted Assange on 18 charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of classified documents. Prosecutors say he conspired with US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer.
Since then, the US has pursuing several legal avenues to extradite Mr Assange to America to try him but in 2021 a British judge ruled that he could not be extradited citing concerns over his mental health.
The US government appealed this decision and the High Court ruled that they had been assured of his safe treatment, that he won’t face the death penalty, and the extradition could go ahead.
Julian was not able to appeal at this stage. Instead, High Court Judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson were left to decide if the assurances given by America that his rights will be protected and that he will not face the death penalty are realistic. The decision today now grants his right to appeal.
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HeadlineJulian Assange wins High Court bid to appeal US extradition
Short HeadlineAssange wins bid to appeal US extradition
StandfirstJulian Assange has won his appeal in the High Court to avoid an extradition to the US, where he faced up to 175 years in prison.
Julian Assange has won a bid at the High Court to bring an appeal against his extradition to the United States.
Mr Assange’s lawyers have accepted an assurance that the US will not seek the death penalty if the WikiLeaks founder is extradited and convicted, the High Court has heard.
He faces prosecution in the US over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars in 2010.
Hundreds of supporters were gathered outside the High Court this morning ahead of the decision. This decision means that Mr Assange has the right to appeal against his extradition.
He had been granted permission to appeal only if President Biden’s administration was unable to provide the court with suitable assurances that he would not face the death penalty, face prejudice based on his nationality – he is Australian – and be guaranteed the same first amendment protections as a US citizen.
So, who is Julian Assange and what legal battle is he fighting?
Julian Assange greets supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, May 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Julian Assange is an Australian citizen who founded and ran the website, WikiLeaks. It was designed to support whistleblowers by encrypting data so leaks could not be traced back to individuals.
He has been involved in 14 years of legal controversy involving the governments of the US, UK, Ecuador and Sweden.
In 2010, a series of official US Army intelligence documents relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan appeared on the website WikiLeaks. This leak included airstrike footage, military logs, and diplomatic cables.
Later that year, prosecutors in Sweden issued a warrant for Julian’s arrest over rape and molestation allegations. Julian had been in the country at the time but left for the UK and when an international arrest warrant was granted.
After two years of legal debate an extradition order to Sweden was confirmed. Mr Assange then sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK, where he spent the next seven years having been granted asylum. The Swedish charges were later dropped.
In April 2019, following a series of disputes with Ecuadorian authorities and a change in attitudes toward Wikileaks within the Ecuadorian government, Mr Assange was arrested by British Police and sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching bail.
Since his arrest on 11 April 2019, Assange has been incarcerated in HM Prison Belmarsh in London.
In May 2019 and June 2020, the US government indicted Assange on 18 charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of classified documents. Prosecutors say he conspired with US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer.
Since then, the US has pursuing several legal avenues to extradite Mr Assange to America to try him but in 2021 a British judge ruled that he could not be extradited citing concerns over his mental health.
The US government appealed this decision and the High Court ruled that they had been assured of his safe treatment, that he won’t face the death penalty, and the extradition could go ahead.
Julian was not able to appeal at this stage. Instead, High Court Judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson were left to decide if the assurances given by America that his rights will be protected and that he will not face the death penalty are realistic. The decision today now grants his right to appeal.
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