LONDON (AP) – A British judge on Monday rejected a US request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges for publishing US secret documents a decade ago, saying that he was likely to commit suicide if kept under harsh American imprisonment. conditions.
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.
U.S. government attorneys said they would appeal the decision and the U.S. Justice Department said it would continue to seek Assange’s extradition.
“While we are extremely disappointed with the court’s final decision, we are pleased that the United States prevailed in all the legal issues raised,” it said in a statement. “In particular, the court rejected all of Mr. Assange’s arguments about political motivation, political offense, fair trial, and freedom of speech.”
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 marked a dramatic moment in Assange’s long legal battles in Britain, though it was 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 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 thousands of WikiLeaks diplomatic and outreach documents. 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, saying Assange’s actions, if proven, would be crimes “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 he was sent to the United States.
The judge agreed that conditions in the U.S. prison would be oppressive, and said there was a “real risk” that he would be sent to the top administrative center in Florence, Colorado. It is the highest security prison in the United States, which also detains Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski and Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
He accepted expert witness evidence that Assange had a depressive disorder and an autism spectrum disorder.
“I am pleased that under these harsh conditions, Mr Assange’s mental health would deteriorate, causing him to commit suicide with the sole determination of his autism spectrum disorder,” 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.
Britain’s extradition agreement with the United States says extradition can be blocked if “because of the person’s physical or mental condition, it would be unfair or oppressive to extradite him.”
This is not the first time the United Kingdom has refused extradition to the United States for these reasons.
In 2018, a British court refused to extradite Lauri Love, a hacker accused of penetrating U.S. government networks because of the risk of killing himself. In 2012, then-Home Secretary Theresa May blocked the extradition of Gary McKinnon, who was accused of breaking into US military and space networks because of the risk that his life would end. .
Assange prosecutors have been condemned by journalists and human rights groups, who say it undermines freedom of expression and endangers journalists. 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 in the Ecuadorian embassy, where he was out of reach of British and Swedish authorities, but was also a prisoner, unable to leave the small diplomatic space of Ecuador. 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.