London High Court allows Assange to challenge extradition
3 Min Read
The US submitted assurances to the London High Court were dismissed by Assange's wife, who dubbed them as mere "weasel words."
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Stella Assange, wife of Julian Assange, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in Lonson on May 20, 2024. (AP)
Sky News has reported that the UK's High Court of Justice in London decided in favor of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, approving his request to contest the decision on his extradition to the United States.
Assange awaited a decision on Monday from two judges at the High Court rule on whether they are satisfied by US assurances that Assange would not face the death penalty and could rely on the First Amendment right to free speech if he were to stand in a US trial for spying.
The court also requested that Assange not be disadvantaged during his trial because of his nationality, and that he not face the death sentence. On Tuesday, the United States supplied the basic guarantees required by the Supreme Court to proceed with the lawsuit.
The US submitted assurances to the London High Court were dismissed by Assange's wife, who dubbed them as mere "weasel words."
According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who commented to Sputnik, it is "difficult to call the ongoing execution a 'decision in favor of Assange,'" Zakharova said.
Assurances or deceit?
In late March, Assange was given the chance to fight against extradition only if the US was not able to provide additional "satisfactory assurances" regarding the WikiLeaks founder's ability to invoke the protections of the First Amendment of the US Constitution and his potential exposure to the death penalty.
This includes assurances “that the applicant [Assange] is permitted to rely on the first amendment, that the applicant is not prejudiced at trial, including sentence, by reason of his nationality, that he is afforded the same first amendment [free speech] protections as a United States citizen, and that the death penalty is not imposed."
In this context, the US assurances stated that Assange is not being prosecuted because of nationality, that he can seek the First Amendment but only under the authority of US courts, and that the death penalty would not be sought by the US or imposed on Assange.
If the London court found the assurances sufficient, then Assange would have no choice but to be extradited to the US. Then, his only hope would be reliance on human rights organization's intervention.
BREAKING:
— Stella Assange #FreeAssangeNOW (@Stella_Assange) April 16, 2024
“The United States has issued a non-assurance in relation to the First Amendment, and a standard assurance in relation to the death penalty. It makes no undertaking to withdraw the prosecution's previous assertion that Julian has no First Amendment rights because he… pic.twitter.com/lu7bkw0M5u
