Julian Assange extradition case: Stella Assange, supporters decry politics behind case

Julian Assange's extradition case highlights political interference, potential 175-year sentence, mental health concerns, and international legal complexities.

Days before a U.K. High Court hearing on whether WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange will be allowed to appeal his extradition to the United States, his wife, Stella, and other supporters, decried the role politics had played in the case.

Mr. Assange, 52, is being charged on 18 counts, 17 of which involve the violation of the U.S.’ Espionage Act, for publishing sensitive diplomatic and military cables. He faces up to 175 years in prison.

“Julian is just one decision away from being extradited,” Ms. Assange told reporters at a briefing organised by the Foreign Press Association on May 15. It was “bizzare”, Ms. Assange said, that the U.S. had been allowed multiple opportunities to amend its case. “It seems like they’re given endless chances to change their case,” she said.

The case is rigged against Julian,” WikiLeaks Editor in Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said, adding that Mr. Assange was a “political prisoner”.

In March, the High Court had said that Mr. Assange would be allowed to appeal his extradition if the U.S. failed to provide assurances that he would not face the death penalty and that Mr. Assange, an Australian (i.e., a non-U.S. citizen), could rely on the U.S.’ First Amendment (i.e., free speech) rights during his defence.

In April, it was reported that the U.S. had provided an assurance that the death penalty will not be sought or imposed in Mr Assange’s case. The U.S. also said Mr. Assange “will have the ability to raise and seek to rely upon” the First Amendment, but whether those rights applied to him as an Australian, would be entirely a matter for U.S. courts to decide. This has been a central concern for Mr. Assange’s lawyers.

“That is a non assurance, it doesn’t provide any assurance whatsoever,” Jennifer Robinson, part of Mr. Assange’s legal team, told reporters on Wednesday. Ms. Robinson, who addressed journalists virtually from Australia, said that there was case law in the U.S. which said foreign nationals cannot rely on First Amendment protections for acts committed outside the U.S. “The court should not accept these this diplomatic notes [ U.S. assurances] because it doesn’t respond to the assurances that they were seeking,” Ms. Assange said.