LONDON — A court in the United Kingdom on Tuesday ordered a delay in the possible extradition of Julian Assange, allowing the WikiLeaks founder to continue his appeal fighting a transfer to the United States to face charges in connection with one of the largest thefts of classified government information in American history
Assange is accused of conspiring with Chelsea Manning, who was then an intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, in a leak of hundreds of thousands of classified documents, including about 250,000 U.S. Department of State cables. WikiLeaks began publishing those documents in 2010.
The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed in 2019 an 18-count indictment accusing Assange of violating the Espionage Act by allegedly obtaining, receiving and disclosing classified information.
The U.K. court on Tuesday said an extradition could go ahead if the U.S. is able to provide sufficient assurances that Assange’s case will be considered under the full protections of the First Amendment and that he will not be subjected to the death penalty.
The court noted that U.S. prosecutors have also said the First Amendment may not apply to Assange as a non-American citizen. The court said in that case extradition may not be permitted.
The unsealing of the U.S. charges followed Assange’s arrest after he spent seven years living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He’s been incarcerated for the last five years in Belmarsh High Security Prison, a maximum-security facility in South London.
Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange stand outside the high court on the day Assange appeals against his extradition to the United States, in London, Feb. 20, 2024.
Isabel Infantes/Reuters
The British government approved the extradition after a hearing in London in June 2022.
Alice Jill Edwards, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, said in February she had concerns about Assange’s mental and physical wellbeing in prison. She said Assange “suffers from a depressive disorder.”
“Any extradition to the United States is very likely to exacerbate his medical underlying conditions — and there is a very real risk of suicide,” she said, according to U.N. News.
Stella Assange, a longtime partner who married Assange in 2022, added that the WikiLeaks founder had “no prospect” for a fair trial under the U.S. court system.
Stella Assange, wife of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, walks into the high court, on the day Assange appeals against his extradition to the United States, in London, Feb. 20, 2024.
Isabel Infantes/Reuters
A U.K. Home Office spokesperson said a statement when the extradition was approved that the U.K. courts had not found that an extradition to the U.S. would “be oppressive, unjust or an abuse of process.”
The spokesperson added, “Nor have they found that extradition would be incompatible with his human rights, including his right to a fair trial and to freedom of expression, and that whilst in the US he will be treated appropriately, including in relation to his health.”
Assange, an Australian citizen, had continued appealing the decision. A hearing in February in London’s High Court was expected to be his final chance within the U.K. courts to stop the overseas transfer, although he may choose to continue his appeal with the European Court of Human Rights.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures from the window of a prison van as he is driven out of Southwark Crown Court in London on May 1, 2019.
Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images
The 18 charges brought against Assange carry a potential penalty of up to 175 years in prison, according to the Department of Justice. Officials said in announcing the charges that “sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.”
A superseding indictment issued in 2020 added allegations that Assange had conspired with the Anonymous hacking group.
WikiLeaks published in 2010 and 2011 several caches of classified U.S. documents and other leaked material. Those included a U.S. military video published in 2010 that the group described as “depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad — including two Reuters news staff.”
The United Kingdom had as of 2022 denied at least 25 previous extradition requests made by the United States in separate cases, according to the Home Office.
“If Julian Assange is extradited, he will die,” Stella Assange said ahead of the February hearing, according to WikiLeaks.
ABC News’ Guy Davies, Mark Osborne, Jon Haworth, Lucien Bruggeman, Patrick Reevell and Joe Simonetti contributed to this story.
The highly anticipated decision on Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States has been delayed by a UK court, providing an opportunity for an appeal to be filed. The WikiLeaks founder has been fighting against extradition to the US for years, where he faces charges related to the publication of classified documents.
The delay in the decision came after a hearing at the Old Bailey court in London, where Assange’s legal team argued that he would not receive a fair trial in the US due to concerns about his mental health and the conditions he would face in American prisons. The judge, Vanessa Baraitser, agreed to give Assange’s lawyers more time to prepare their arguments against extradition.
Assange’s legal team has indicated that they plan to appeal the decision if it goes against their client. They have raised concerns about the potential impact of his extradition on press freedom and the rights of journalists to publish sensitive information in the public interest.
The case has garnered international attention and sparked debates about the balance between national security and freedom of the press. Supporters of Assange argue that he is a journalist who has exposed government wrongdoing and should be protected from prosecution. Critics, on the other hand, believe that he has endangered lives by releasing classified information.
The delay in the decision on Assange’s extradition provides an opportunity for his legal team to further make their case against his removal to the US. It also gives supporters of Assange more time to rally behind him and advocate for his release.
As the case continues to unfold, it remains to be seen what the final outcome will be. But one thing is clear: the decision on Assange’s extradition will have far-reaching implications for press freedom and the rights of journalists around the world.
