Julian Assange is at great risk: Amnesty

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
17 Jun 2022 15:28
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Amnesty International warns that the extradition of Julian Assange to the US would put him at great risk and sends a chilling message to journalists the world over.

Amnesty International urges the UK to refrain from extraditing Julian Assange.

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has approved the US government's request to extradite WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange, according to her department.

Simultaneously, Amnesty International warned that the extradition of Julian Assange to the US would put him at great risk and sends a chilling message to journalists the world over.

In a blow to press freedom worldwide, British interior minister Priti Patel approved the extradition of #WikiLeaks' founder #JulianAssange.
This could make him face up to 175 years in prison for exposing #US war crimes in #Iraq and #Afghanistan.#FreeAssange pic.twitter.com/TyAnDSHUfq
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 17, 2022

Agnes Callamard, the Amnesty International Secretary General said: “If the extradition proceeds, Amnesty International is extremely concerned that Assange faces a high risk of prolonged solitary confinement, which would violate the prohibition on torture or other ill-treatment. Diplomatic assurances provided by the US that Assange will not be kept in solitary confinement cannot be taken on face value given the previous history”.

The rights group has also urged the UK to refrain from extraditing Julian Assange, and for the US to drop the charges, and free Assange.

It is worth noting that Julian Assange will almost certainly appeal the extradition on the grounds that it violates his right to free expression.

Can Assange handle extradition?

It is worth mentioning that Julian Assange's defense lawyer Edward Fitzgerald argued that US promises that Assange would not be subjected to harsh prison conditions if extradited were not enough to address concerns regarding his fragile mental health and high risk of suicide.

Assange's lawyer said the Australian was "too mentally ill" to be extradited to the US in light of his trial on "espionage charges."

Fitzgerald argued that US 'assurances' were all "caveated, vague, or simply ineffective." He explained that they do not remove the risk of his detention in extreme isolation in the US in the long term. The risk of Assange killing himself remained substantial if he was extradited, he said.

"It is perfectly reasonable to find it oppressive to extradite a mentally disordered person because his extradition is likely to result in his death," he said. Fitzgerald also called on judges to use their power to protect people from extradition to a foreign state where "we have no control over what will be done to them."

Last year, the US government overturned a block on the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from Britain to face trial for publishing top-secret documents exposing war crimes perpetrated by the US and its allies across the globe, although options to appeal remain open to his legal team.

Washington presented the challenge after a lower court judge in London ruled in January that the 50-year-old journalist would be a suicide risk in the US justice system.

Assange’s fiancee, Stella Moris, denounced the decision as "grave miscarriage of justice," as quoted by Wikileaks on Twitter.