Wed 20 April 2022:
Following an order from a United Kingdom court, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is one step closer to being extradited to the United States.
The Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London formally issued an order on Wednesday to extradite Assange to the United States to face spying charges for publishing a trove of sensitive information more than ten years ago, with Assange supporters gathered outside carrying placards reading “don’t extradite Assange”.
Among them was former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who told those assembled: “He’s done absolutely no more than telling the truth to the world.
“We will carry on campaigning.”
UK court issues order to extradite Julian Assange to US where he faces 175-year sentence.#JulianAssange pic.twitter.com/gcxssy80kG
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) April 20, 2022
Priti Patel, the UK’s Home Secretary, will now decide whether or not to sanction the extradition.
While Assange’s legal options have been exhausted, the move takes him closer to face US charges. Patel has four weeks to respond to his lawyers’ submissions. If she approves the extradition, Assange can appeal the decision through judicial review, which involves a court examining the legitimacy of a government decision.
The order comes after Assange was denied permission to appeal a lower court’s decision that he may be extradited by the UK Supreme Court last month.
U.S. TRIES AGAIN TO EXTRADITE WIKILEAKS FOUNDER JULIAN ASSANGE FROM BRITAIN
Assange’s lawyer, Mark Summers, told the court that the legal team had “serious submissions” to make in response to the most recent order.
Assange watched the latest proceedings by video link from Belmarsh Prison, where he has been held since 2019 when he was arrested for skipping bail during a separate legal battle.
Prior to that, he spent seven years inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault. Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 after the statute of limitations ran out.
BIDEN ADMIN. CONTINUES TO SEEK EXTRADITION OF WIKILEAKS FOUNDER JULIAN ASSANGE
US prosecutors allege Assange unlawfully helped US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk. He faces 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse.
