LONDON (AP) – A British judge on Monday rejected a U.S. request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges and said he was likely to commit suicide if he remained under arrest. harsh conditions of the American prison.
In a joint ruling for Assange and her supporters, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser dismissed the defense’s arguments that the 49-year-old Australian faces a politically motivated U.S. prosecution facing the protections of freedom of expression. But he said Assange’s precarious mental health would likely deteriorate even further under conditions of “near total isolation” facing an American prison.
“I find Mr. Assange’s mental condition to be such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America,” the judge said.
He said Assange was “a depressed and sometimes desperate man” who had “the intellect and determination” to evade all suicide prevention measures taken by U.S. prison authorities.
The U.S. government said it would appeal the decision. Assange’s lawyers said they would request his release from a London jail where he has been detained for more than 18 months on bail on Wednesday.
Assange, who was sitting quietly on the dock of London’s Central Criminal Court by ruling, wiped his forehead when the decision was announced. His partner Stella Moris, with whom he has two young children, cried.
Out of court, Moris said the sentence was “the first step to justice,” but it was not yet time to celebrate.
“I was hoping that today would be the day Julian would return home,” he said. “Today is not that day, but it will come soon.”
The ruling marks a dramatic moment in Assange’s legal battles in Britain for years, though probably not his final chapter.
It is unclear whether the Biden administration will enter the persecution, initiated under President Donald Trump’s term.
Assange’s US lawyer Barry Pollack said the legal team was “hugely pleased” by the British court’s decision.
“We hope that after considering the UK court ruling, the United States will decide not to pursue the case,” he said.
Moris urged Trump to pardon Assange before he leaves office later this month.
“Mr. President, tear down these prison walls, “he said.” Let our young children have their father. “
U.S. prosecutors have charged Assange with 17 counts of espionage and one count of misuse of computers for posting leaked military and diplomatic documents by WikiLeaks a decade ago. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.
Assange’s lawyers argue that he acted as a journalist and that he has a right to the protection of the First Amendment’s freedom of expression to publish documents exposing U.S. military illusions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
U.S. government attorneys denied Assange was prosecuted solely for publishing, saying the case “is largely based on his illegal involvement” in the theft of diplomatic cables and military files by the analyst. of intelligence of the American army Chelsea Manning.
The British judge sided with American lawyers on that score and said Assange’s actions, if proven, “would amount to crimes in that jurisdiction that would not be protected by his right to freedom of expression.” He also said the U.S. judicial system would give him a fair trial.
The defense also argued during a three-week hearing in the fall that Assange risked “a very disproportionate sentence” and detention in “draconian and inhumane conditions” if sent to the United States.
The judge agreed that the conditions of the American prison would be oppressive. He accepted expert witness evidence that Assange had a depressive disorder and an autism spectrum disorder.
“I accept that oppression as an obstacle to extradition requires a high threshold. … However, I am satisfied that, under these harsh conditions, Mr Assange’s mental health would deteriorate and cause him to commit suicide with the “unique determination” of his autism spectrum disorder, “the judge said in his sentence.
Assange processors have been condemned by journalists and human rights groups, who claim it undermines freedom of expression around the world.
They welcomed the judge’s decision, although it was not adopted for reasons of freedom of expression.
“This is a great relief for anyone who cares about the rights of journalists,” the Freedom of the Press Foundation posted on Twitter.
Assange’s legal troubles began in 2010, when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, who wanted to interrogate him over allegations of rape and sexual assault of two women. In 2012, Assange jumped on bail and sought refuge inside the Ecuadorian embassy, where he was out of reach of British and Swedish authorities, but also effectively a prisoner, unable to leave the small diplomatic mission in the London area. of Knightsbridge.
The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually worsened and he was evicted from the embassy in April 2019. British police arrested him immediately for breaching his bail in 2012.
Sweden withdrew investigations into sex crimes in November 2019 because a long time had passed, but Assange has remained in London’s Belmarsh high-security prison throughout his extradition hearing.