The High Court of London decided this Tuesday (26) to postpone the decision on the appeal presented in the case of Australian journalist Julian Assange, which prevents the founder of the WikiLeaks portal from being immediately extradited to the United States.
Judges Victoria Sharp and Adam Johnson, who evaluated the parties' arguments over several weeks, considered that an eventual appeal by Assange could be partially successful, which is why they allowed the American government the opportunity to “offer guarantees” against these arguments.
In the decision, the court gave the US three weeks to provide satisfactory guarantees that Assange will be able to invoke in his defense the First Amendment of the American Constitution, relating to the protection of freedom of expression. Guarantees will also be needed that the Australian will not be prejudiced at trial because of his nationality, that he will be afforded the same First Amendment protections as a US citizen, and that he will not be sentenced to the death penalty.
If these guarantees are not given, then Assange will be allowed to appeal; but if offered, the parties will have the opportunity to present further submissions at a hearing on May 20 in order to make a decision on whether to appeal.
The US is asking for Assange's extradition for 18 crimes of espionage and computer intrusion, after the publication of content considered “sensitive” on his portal, which between 2010 and 2011 revealed alleged US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to Assange's defense, these crimes are punishable by 175 years in prison in the United States.
Assange was arrested for the first time in 2010 at the request of Sweden for a case that has since been closed, but in 2012 he took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, until he was detained in 2019 by British police, after the South American country withdrew its asylum status, and has since been held in Belmarsh prison, on the outskirts of London.
Stella Assange, wife of the founder of WikiLeaks, was outraged by the announcement that she classified as “shocking” from the High Court of Justice in London. As soon as the decision was confirmed, Stella Assange considered the case to be “a shame for any democratic country”.
“Julian should not have been in prison for a single day,” Assange’s wife told the press after leaving the court.
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