Mr Assange is wanted over the publication of thousands of classified documents in and The documents revealed how the US military had killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents during the war in Afghanistan, while leaked Iraq war files showed the 66, civilians had been killed and prisoners tortured by Iraqi forces.
The US says the leaks broke the law and endangered lives, but Mr Assange says the case is politically motivated. His lawyer told the court that the risk of suicide would be "imminent the moment extradition becomes likely".
In January, the district judge overseeing the US's extradition appeal, Vanessa Baraitser, said Mr Assange's publication of classified military and government documents arguably amounted to a crime.
But he could not be transferred to the US because he was unwell and could take his own life. He said Mr Assange's psychiatrist had misled the earlier judge and the US had not been given an opportunity to answer her concerns. Mr Assange, 50, is wanted in the US on allegations of a conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following Wikileaks' publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
The publications include the release in April of footage showing US soldiers shooting and killing civilians from a helicopter in Iraq. Mr Assange has been in Belmarsh Prison since , when he was carried out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London by police and arrested for breaching his bail conditions.
He had been in the embassy since , avoiding extradition to Sweden, where he faced sex offence allegations. He has always denied those and they were eventually dropped. On Wednesday morning, Mr Assange's legal team initially told judges he would not attend because he was not well.
He later attended via a video link from prison. US lawyers said it had now given four binding assurances as to how Mr Assange would be treated:. Assange faces an count indictment, alleging a plot to hack computers and a conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.
It followed the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents in and relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, as well as diplomatic cables. The charges allege that Assange conspired with US defence analyst Chelsea Manning to unlawfully obtain classified material.
It was also claimed that he published unredacted classified information that put the lives of US sources at risk. They suggested he would be held in segregation under Special Administrative Measures at a supermax jail, conditions usually reserved for convicted terrorists. The court heard evidence Assange is on the autistic spectrum, has suffered from severe depression and would be a serious suicide risk.
What did Judge Vanessa Baraitser find in her ruling? Will Assange be freed from prison? Not immediately. Even then, the US prosecution could appeal against a decision to grant conditional bail. What else can the US prosecution do now? Not really. In her ruling, Judge Baraitser upheld the majority of the prosecution's arguments to extradite Assange, which included saying he could not rely on protections of free speech and freedom of the press.
She said this was because several of his actions had been outside the remit of a journalist, and would have violated the Official Secrets Act if prosecuted in the UK.
Therefore, the case was completely reliant on Assange's mental health, rather than press freedom - and is what ultimately swung the decision in his favour. Two days after the extradition hearing, Baraitser denied a bail request from Assange's lawyers, meaning he will remain in Belmarsh until the US launches its extradition appeal.
It has until January 18 to do so. These efforts, however, may ultimately be in vain, according to the federal prosecutor leading the charge against Assange in the US. Zachary Terwilliger, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, pointed out to NPR that an appeals process could be dragged over a series of months, during which time Joe Biden will have taken up the presidency and the Justice Department will change.
Some of this does come down to resources and where you're going to focus your energies. This content is not available in your region. Text size Aa Aa.
0コメント