WIKILEAKS’ FOUNDER JULIAN ASSANGE TO MAKE FINAL APPEAL

Fri 09 June 2023:

Stella Assange, his wife, announced on Thursday that Julian Assange would file a second appeal with the UK’s High Court after learning that another judge had denied his prior request, clearing the way for the transfer of the WikiLeaks founder to the US.

“On Tuesday next week my husband Julian Assange will make a renewed application for appeal to the High Court,” Stella Assange tweeted. “The matter will then proceed to a public hearing before two new judges at the High Court and we remain optimistic that we will prevail and that Julian will not be extradited to the United States where he faces charges that could result in him spending the rest of his life in a maximum security prison for publishing true information that revealed war crimes committed by the US government.”

Assange’s previous appeal of the June 2020 extradition order was rejected earlier this week. On June 6, Justice Jonathan Swift of the High Court of England and Wales rejected all eight grounds for his motion, giving the WikiLeaks publisher a five-day deadline to make his case to a two-judge panel.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the ruling on Thursday, calling it “absurd” that a single judge could “permanently impact the climate for journalism around the world.”

“The historical weight of what happens next cannot be overstated; it is time to put a stop to this relentless targeting of Assange and act instead to protect journalism and press freedom,” said RSF’s Rebecca Vincent, calling on US President Joe Biden to drop the charges against Assange and “allow for his release without further delay.”

The US government has charged Assange with conspiracy to hack Pentagon systems under the Espionage Act in connection with the 2010 publishing of Iraq and Afghanistan war diaries. If convicted, Assange faces up to 175 years behind bars.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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