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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Monday won his legal battle against extradition from the UK to face espionage charges – after a judge ruled he would likely kill himself if sent in the USA.
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled it would be ‘oppressive’ to extradite the 49-year-old Australian on grounds of mental health as he faces up to 175 years in prison for allegedly hacking government computers American.
She described Assange as “a depressed and at times desperate man” who had “the intellect and the determination” to bypass any suicide prevention measures taken by the US prison authorities.
The US government immediately announced it would appeal the decision.
Assange’s lawyers, meanwhile, said they would press for his release from a London prison during a bail hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
Assange, who was sitting in the bench at London’s Central Criminal Court for the ruling, wiped his forehead when the ruling was announced. His partner Stella Moris, with whom he has two young sons, cried.
“Today is a victory for Julian. Today’s victory is the first step towards justice in this case, ”Moris said in court, saying she was“ extremely concerned ”that the US government was planning to appeal.
“He continues to want to punish Julian and make him disappear into the deepest, darkest hole of the American prison system for the rest of his life,” she said, saying they “will only celebrate the day of his return home ”.
Assange has been detained in the UK since April 2019, when he was arrested after being deported from his refuge at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
U.S. prosecutors have indicted Assange with 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse following WikiLeaks’ release of leaked military and diplomatic documents ten years ago.
Assange’s lawyers insisted he was acting as a journalist and entitled to First Amendment free speech protections for posting leaked documents that exposed the misdeeds of the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Assange’s US lawyer Barry Pollack said the legal team was “extremely pleased with the UK court’s decision to deny the extradition.”
“The efforts of the United States to prosecute Julian Assange and seek his extradition have been misguided from the start,” he said. “We hope that after reviewing the UK court’s decision, the United States will decide not to pursue the case.”
The Press Freedom Foundation called the attempted extradition and prosecution “the most dangerous threat to American press freedom in decades.”
“It’s a huge relief for anyone who cares about the rights of journalists,” tweeted of Monday’s court decision. “The result will protect journalists everywhere.”
With pole wires
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