WikiLeaks' Assange faces final effort to avoid U.S. extradition
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is embarking on what may be his final opportunity to prevent extradition from Britain to the United States, ending over 13 years of legal disputes in English courts.
U.S. prosecutors aim to try Assange, 52, on 18 charges linked to WikiLeaks' release of extensive confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables, which they claim endangered their agents. Assange's supporters celebrate him as a journalistic hero persecuted for revealing U.S. misconduct and alleged war crimes.
Assange's legal ordeal started in 2010, leading him to seek asylum in Ecuador's London embassy for seven years until his 2019 arrest for bail violation. Since then, he has been detained in a high-security London jail, where he even got married.
In 2022, Britain sanctioned his extradition to the U.S., overturning an initial block due to suicide risk concerns related to his mental health. Assange's legal team will contest this decision at a London High Court hearing, arguing the political motivation of his prosecution and its threat to free speech, under unprecedented charges of the U.S. Espionage Act.
Support for Assange spans globally, from Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders to media outlets that collaborated with WikiLeaks and Australian politicians, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Pope Francis also met with his wife last year, signaling widespread concern for his case.
Should Assange's imminent appeal fail, his last recourse would reside with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), where an appeal awaits the London court's verdict. Stella Assange, his wife, warns of his deteriorating health and the fatal risk of extradition, stating, "If he is extradited he will die."
Assange's brother, Gabriel Shipton, draws parallels between Assange and the late Russian activist Alexei Navalny, emphasizing the dire consequences of prolonged unjust imprisonment. WikiLeaks first gained notoriety in 2010 with its publication of a U.S. military video and thousands of classified documents, exposing critical global diplomatic assessments and sparking international debate.
