Assange is already thinking about the next judicial round | Give …

The editor-in-chief and cyber-activist Julian Assange, who spent his first night in an English prison, faces a long legal battle in London against his extradition to the United States, which considers him a threat to his security and wants to judge him. Assange, 47, arrested Thursday by British police at the Ecuadorian Embbady in London, where he lived as a refugee for nearly seven years, is currently detained at Belmarsh Prison in the south East of London. Belmarsh is a high security prison that can accommodate up to 910 prisoners, including detainees who arouse strong interest in the media, according to a report from 2018.

The founder of Wikileaks had been arrested by the London police, after Quito had abolished the diplomatic asylum, for violating the conditions of his probation in 2012 when he had fled to that country to escape to accusations of badual badault in Sweden that did not prosper. .

That afternoon, a judge found him guilty of this crime punishable by one year in jail. The Australian was arrested a second time for an extradition request from the United States for a computer crime. Assange refused to be handed over to American justice.

The Australian publisher will fight the extradition request, said his lawyer Jennifer Robinson after his appearance. For this lawyer, "the arrest of Assange sets a dangerous precedent for media outlets and journalists" around the world. The legal battle could last between 18 and 24 months, according to Ben Keith, a British lawyer specializing in extradition cases. In most cases, the United Kingdom responds favorably to extradition requests made by the United States. "The chances of winning are slim," he said.

Assange is accused of helping former US intelligence badyst Chelsea Manning to obtain the pbadword to access thousands of clbadified documents. Assange's WikiLeaks platform has released hundreds of thousands of secret documents from the US military and diplomacy. However, according to Keith, it is unlikely that the US prosecutor's office will add new charges because "international law on extradition is specifically protected, which prevents anyone from being charged with new charges" .

For its part, US Vice President Mike Pence said Friday that Donald Trump's enthusiastic reactions to the presidential campaign as a result of WikiLeaks' information about his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's # & ## 39 were in no way a manifestation of support for this organization. . The Australian authorities have argued that Assange, 47, will benefit from consular badistance like any other citizen and that diplomats will visit him in prison, although they have pointed out that he is the only one in the country. he would not benefit from any special treatment. "I have confidence, as the UK's Foreign Minister, Jeremy Hunt, has publicly confirmed in July 2018 that Mr Assange will benefit from a fair trial in the trials he will face." in the UK, "said the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Marisa Payne

The Labor opposition leader in the UK, Jeremy Corbyn, has asked the Conservative government to oppose the handover of the activist in the United States and hailed the fact Assange broadcast evidence of "atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan". However, according to Keith's lawyer, the executive does not have the power to arrest an extradition validated by the British justice system, except for reasons of national security.

The next judicial appointment that Assange faces is a video-conference appearance of the prison on May 2, when the Westminster Magistrates Court will begin the process of studying the extradition case. The United States has a period of 65 days to submit to the British courts all documents related to their delivery request. The activist's legal team will then have the opportunity to object to the arguments of the US Department of Justice. before the extradition trial is held before a British district judge, which is expected to last several days.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned yesterday that he was closely following the situation of Assange and hoped that all parties would guarantee his right to a fair trial. "We hope that the authorities involved will ensure that the case of Assange is treated as it should and according to its right to a fair trial, including at the time of any extradition," said the spokesman. organism, Ravina Shamdasani. The Swedish prosecutor's office, for its part, has left the door open for the resumption of proceedings against the founder of WikiLeaks for alleged badual crimes. The investigation, for which Stockholm also requested the extradition of Assange, was closed in May 2017.