Assange extradition breaches US-UK extradition treaty, Snowden says
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Journalist Edward Snowden said that Assange's journalism should not be treated as a criminal offense, particularly since it pertains to a political matter, which the US-UK extradition treaty prohibits.
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Pro-Assange activists demonstrate outside of the British Consulate in Milan, northern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. (AP)
Edward Snowden, former US National Security Agency contractor and whistleblower, said Tuesday that the potential extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States by UK authorities would constitute a breach of the US-UK extradition treaty.
"The outrageous part of the UK's years-long 'trial' to condemn Julian Assange to die in an American dungeon is that the victim of his 'crime' (journalism) is a state rather than a person — the definition of a political offense, which the US-UK extradition treaty explicitly forbids," Snowden wrote on X.
He further called on political leaders and journalists not to remain silent on Assange's trial as they could still "actually influence the outcome."
To every political leader and journalist making and writing speeches: You can't save Navalny. You *can* still save Assange. If you're silent here, when and where you can actually influence the outcome, you were never standing up for principles—you were just hoping for applause. https://t.co/RRPSoAgiGe
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) February 20, 2024
Read more: CPJ perpetually excludes Assange from imprisoned journalists list
The High Court of Justice in London began a two-day hearing on Julian Assange's case Tuesday and authorities will assess whether the journalist will have more opportunity to contest extradition to the US in UK courts.
Assange was absent from court due to illness as his lawyer made a final appeal against extradition to the US.
Protesters gathered outside the courthouse today to support Assange and call for his release from jail.
His wife, Stella Assange, spoke before a rally outside the Court and expressed that prosecutors "cannot get away with this. Julian needs his freedom, and we all need truth."
"I don’t have hope that this will go our way. And even if it were to go our way – meaning he’d have leave to appeal and have his arguments heard in full – then it would mean Julian continues in prison," she told reporters.
This journalist has been in a London prison for almost five years for exposing state criminality.
— Stella Assange #FreeAssangeNOW (@Stella_Assange) February 18, 2024
If the UK sends to the country he exposed he will die in a US prison cell.
This week the UK will decide. It’s now or never. Defend Assange. His life and the future of journalism… pic.twitter.com/DRcTyElvK3
Should Assange's appeal be unsuccessful, he retains the option to file an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights to forestall his extradition to the US. Nonetheless, his legal team is concerned that the British government might attempt to transport him by air before such an appeal can be pursued.
Read more: Assange's wife: Extradition hearing 'a matter of life and death'
In April 2019, Assange was transferred to London's high-security Belmarsh prison for breaching bail conditions. He faces prosecution in the US under the Espionage Act for obtaining and disclosing classified information.
If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison.
