UK judiciary to rule in Assange extradition Friday
London will be giving Friday its ruling on a US government appeal case against a decision not to extradite Julian Assange from the UK.
-
Supporters of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange protest outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Britain, October 28, 2021 (Credit: Reuters)
The Court of Appeal in London said it would on Friday give its ruling on a US government appeal against a decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the United Kingdom.
The United States is prosecuting Assange over his leaking of a large number of classified documents to the public, which exposed US doings in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Court listings for the Royal Courts of Justice in London published on Thursday said a judgment in the case would be handed down at 10:15 GMT on Friday.
BREAKING: Ruling on the US's appeal against refusal to extradite Julian Assange will be given tomorrow, December 10th at 10.15am at the Court of Appeal in London #FreeAssangeNOW pic.twitter.com/ncVodVFoGp
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) December 9, 2021
The United Kingdom had blocked the extradition at the beginning of this year on the grounds that Assange would be at risk of taking his life were he to be removed to the United States and held in isolation.
US government lawyers argued in October the original judge had not given sufficient weight to other expert testimony about Assange's mental state, meaning the United States does not believe the defendant would be a suicide risk in isolation.
The US lawyers also argued Washington would not hold Assange in a federal supermax prison, alleging that the WikiLeaks founder would receive appropriate treatment.
Assange has been in custody since 2019, despite the fact that he had served a previous sentence over breaching bail conditions in a separate case.
He had also spent seven years at the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid his extradition to Sweden over sexual assault allegations, which were later dropped.
Friday's ruling is not likely to end the free speech case. Should the US government win, the case would be sent back to the lower court for a new ruling.
