On Tuesday, two British judges will determine whether Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, can appeal an extradition order to the United States following charges under the Espionage Act.
Julian Assange has been incarcerated in a London prison since 2019, accused by the United States of infractions related to the acquisition and dissemination of classified government documents on WikiLeaks in 2010.
In April 2022, a London court sanctioned his extradition to the United States. Former British Home Secretary Priti Patel greenlit the extradition. Last month, two High Court judges entertained Assange’s final plea for an appeal. A written verdict is anticipated to be issued at 10:30 a.m. local time (6:30 a.m. Eastern) on Tuesday.
Here are the potential outcomes:
Assange is granted the right to appeal.
If Assange is permitted to appeal, he will have the opportunity to present a full case for an appeal in front of the British court on new grounds. This could result in a new ruling regarding his extradition.
This would mean that the legal battle, which has garnered global attention and mobilized advocates for press freedom, will persist, and Assange’s transfer to the United States will be postponed.
Initially, a British judge denied the extradition order in 2021, citing concerns that Assange was at risk of suicide if sent to a U.S. prison. The British High Court later overturned that decision after U.S. officials provided assurances about his treatment.
A lower court judge rejected Assange’s request to appeal the extradition order, prompting his legal team to petition the High Court for a reversal of that decision.
His appeal is rejected.
Should Assange’s plea be denied, his lawyers have indicated that he may be extradited to the United States, potentially concluding his lengthy legal battle.
Nevertheless, Assange’s legal representatives have pledged to challenge a positive extradition ruling at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. As a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, Britain is obliged to comply with the court’s decision. Such an appeal could potentially stall his extradition until a judgment is reached in Strasbourg.
In 2019, Assange was indicted in Northern Virginia on a federal charge of conspiring to hack into a Pentagon computer network in 2010. Subsequently, he faced 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act for his involvement in obtaining and disseminating secret military and diplomatic documents.
His attorneys have argued that the allegations could result in a sentence of up to 175 years in prison if convicted, describing the charges as politically motivated. Conversely, U.S. government lawyers, who contend that the leaks endangered lives, believe Assange is more likely to receive a shorter sentence of four to six years.
The United Nations special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, expressed concerns that if extradited, Assange could face treatment amounting to torture or other inhumane punishments.
In a recent statement, she warned of the possibility of “prolonged solitary confinement, despite his fragile mental health, and receiving a potentially excessive sentence.”
Although American officials have reassured that he would not be confined in the highest-security U.S. prison and, if convicted, could serve his sentence in Australia, Ms. Edwards has deemed these assurances insufficient.
