London: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared in a London court Monday to fight a US extradition request. Jualian Assange sat through at a high-stakes hearing that was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Assange has spent almost a year-and-a-half in a British prison. He sat in the dock at the Old Bailey criminal court. He formally refused the US demand he be extradited to face trial on espionage charges. Assange wore a dark suit, white shirt and maroon tie, with glasses perched atop his neatly trimmed white hair.
Several dozen supporters gathered outside the courthouse. Among them were fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and Assange’s partner, Stella Moris. They kept on chanting, banging drums and calling his prosecution a threat to press freedom. “Julian Assange is the trigger, he is shining the light on all the corruption in the world,” Westwood said.
American prosecutors have indicted the 49-year-old Australian on 18 espionage and computer misuse charges. The charges relate to Wikileaks’ publication of secret US military documents a decade ago. If convicted Assange faces a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.
American authorities allege that Assange conspired with US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. He did so to hack into a Pentagon computer and release hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables. Also military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were made public.
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US prosecutors have also filed a new indictment in June. They say Assange conspired with members of hacking organisations. He sought to recruit hackers to provide WikiLeaks with classified information. That indictment expanded the US case against Assange.
Assange’s lawyers say the prosecution is a politically motivated abuse of power. It will stifle press freedom and put journalists around the world at risk. They argue that Assange is a journalist entitled to ‘First Amendment’ protection. The lawyers have also said the leaked documents exposed US military wrongdoing.
Among the files released by WikiLeaks was video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by American forces in Baghdad. The attack killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists.
Assange’s legal troubles began in 2010, when he was arrested here at the request of Sweden. The country wanted to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women. He refused to go to Stockholm. Assange said he feared extradition or illegal rendition to the United States or the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
