For two days, Julian Assange fights his last battle before the British courts to stop his extradition to the United States, where he could be sentenced to 175 years in prison for 17 crimes of espionage, conspiracy and computer fraud for his work as founder of WikiLeaks, for the dissemination of classified information from the State Department and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A high court must decide, possibly this week, whether Assange has the capacity to appeal the extradition order issued in June 2022 by the then Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Assange's lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald, has stressed the “political motivation” of the case and has warned that the WikiLeaks founder faces “a flagrant denial of justice” if he is extradited to the United States.. “In reality, my client is being prosecuted for a common journalistic practice: the publication of classified information that is truthful and of public interest,” Fitzgerald stressed, with special mention of documents and images from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan..
Stella Morris, Assange's lawyer and wife, arrived at the court minutes before the start of the hearing at 10:30 in the morning (11:30 in Spain) accompanied by the current director of WikiLeaks, Kristinn Hrafnsson.. “Please continue to show your support for Julian until we achieve his freedom,” he said before dozens of protesters who shouted: “There is only one decision: no to extradition.”
Assange himself will appear by videoconference in view from Belmarsh prison, where he has been awaiting a final decision on his case since he was detained at the Ecuadorian embassy in London in April 2019, after seven years of confinement to avoid extradition.
“The court's decision will essentially decide whether Julian lives or dies,” said Morris, who warned that extradition would be equivalent to the death penalty, given the fragile health of the 52-year-old Australian activist and the severe conditions of isolation in North American prisons.
If Assange were to lose the ability to appeal, his lawyers' last resort would be an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, which intervened to stop the deportation of immigrants to Rwanda.. Stella Morris warned, however, that they would only have 24 hours to appeal and little guarantee of success.
“This is our last chance before the British courts,” Morris warned.. “Every day he spends in prison puts Julian's life at risk.”
Dozens of supporters gathered at the high court on London's Strand on Tuesday demanding the release of the WikiLeaks founder.. Amnesty International has championed his case and warned that “the safety of editors and investigative journalists around the world hangs in the balance” if Julian Assange is finally extradited and tried in the United States.