British justice authorized this Wednesday, April 20 the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States where he is being prosecuted for the dissemination of more than 700,000 classified documents on American military and diplomatic activities.
British justice authorized this Wednesday April 20 the extradition of Julian Assange. This 50-year-old Australian, founder of Wikileaks, is being prosecuted by the United States for having disseminated hundreds of thousands of classified documents on the country’s military and diplomatic activities, particularly in the context of the war in the Middle East.
As AFP indicated on Wednesday, it is now up to British Home Secretary Priti Patel to approve it, although defense lawyers can still appeal.
For the acts of which he is accused in the United States, Julian Assange faces a sentence of up to 175 years in prison. Many supporters denounce by opposing these accusations a serious attack on the freedom of the press.
Extradition initially denied
On the eve of the extradition hearing, a column was published in Médiapart by the house of whistleblowers and co-signed by 11 other organizations, including the national union of journalists, Anticor and the International Federation of Journalists.
\u2712\ufe0f As Julian Assange’s new extradition hearing approaches, @mlalert reaffirms its support for the founder of @WikiLeaks in a column published today and co-signed by 11 other organisations, including 5 major journalists’ organisations. https://t.co/ucOZJwN30j
— Mediapart, the Club (@MediapartBlogs) April 19, 2022
France Info recalls that in January 2021, British justice had decided against the extradition of Julian Assange, fearing that he would attempt suicide. The legal battle had only just begun since this decision had been canceled in December by the High Court, while a defense appeal had been canceled in March.
