The UK’s Supreme Court has denied Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s request to appeal the order for him to be extradited to the United States. Assange faces charges in the US under the Espionage Act for his publication of Iraq as well as Afghan War records. If convicted, he can face a maximum sentence of 175 years in jail for releasing the materials.
In 2014, UK Judge Vanessa Baraitser denied an extradition demand by the United States federal government since Assange would not be prevented from suicide in our jail system.
The court’s judgment was rescinded in an appeal by the US government in December, motivating Assange’s law group to approach the UK’s highest court for an appeal of their own.
According to a report from NBC News, the court said it refused because the case “didn’t raise an arguable point of law.” Some are comparing the incomprehensible decision to the stunning refusal of the US Supreme Court to hear Texas v. Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, a decision that essentially handed Joe Biden the White House.
“Monday’s news narrows Assange’s options, but his defense team may still seek to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights or challenge the original judge’s other findings,” the report explains. “Barry Pollack, Assange’s U.S.-based lawyer, said Monday that it was ‘extremely disappointing’ that Britain’s Supreme Court is unwilling to hear the appeal.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement in early 2022 that “the prosecution of the WikiLeaks founder (Julian #Assange) in the United States would set a deeply harmful legal precedent that would allow the prosecution of reporters for news gathering activities and must be stopped.”
Committee to Protect Journalists: “The prosecution of the WikiLeaks founder (Julian #Assange) in the United States would set a deeply harmful legal precedent that would allow the prosecution of reporters for news gathering activities and must be stopped" https://t.co/CkLErXEmkc
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 24, 2022
UPDATE: Wikileaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson posted a statement to Facebook saying that he is “almost speechless” and that the matter now goes to Priti Patel, the UK’s Interior Minister.
Hrafnsson explained,
” The British High Court today rejected Julian Assange’s appeal. The Supreme Court considers it not a worthy legal question to assess whether a paper with the so-called “diplomatic insurance” of the United States Government (which Amnesty and others consider completely incapable) should have any value to the court proceedings Get out. Even the Court of Appeal (High Court) that was based on these guarantees when he turned the court’s court subordinate, considered it justifiable that the High Court discussed the case.”
According to WikiLeaks, “Reporters Without Borders calls on Home Office to block #Assange extradition following Supreme Court refusal to consider appeal”
Reporters Without Borders calls on Home Office to block #Assange extradition following Supreme Court refusal to consider appeal | @RSF_inter https://t.co/2quvAu8yBZ
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 21, 2022
H/T Timcast
