Reporters
Without Borders (RSF) is deeply concerned by the UK High Court’s
decision rejecting WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange’s appeal against
his extradition order, bringing him dangerously close to being
extradited to the United States, where he could face the rest of his
life in prison for publishing leaked classified documents in 2010.
In
a three-page written decision issued on June 6th, a single judge,
Justice Swift, rejected all eight grounds of Assange’s appeal against
the extradition order signed by
then-UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in June 2022. This leaves only one
final step in the UK courts, as the defense has five working days to
submit an appeal of only 20 pages to a panel of two judges, who will
convene a public hearing. Further appeals will not be possible at the
domestic level, but Assange could bring a case to the European Court of
Human Rights.
“It is absurd that a single judge can
issue a three-page decision that could land Julian Assange in prison for
the rest of his life and permanently impact the climate for journalism
around the world. The historical weight of what happens next cannot be
overstated; it is time to put a stop to this relentless targeting of
Assange and act instead to protect journalism and press freedom. Our
call on President Biden is now more urgent than ever: drop these
charges, close the case against Assange, and allow for his release
without further delay.
Rebecca Vincent
RSF’s Director of Campaigns
Stella Assange, Julian’s wife, made a statement on Twitter:
“On Tuesday next week my husband Julian Assange will make a renewed
application for appeal to the High Court. The matter will then proceed
to a public hearing before two new judges at the High Court and we
remain optimistic that we will prevail and that Julian will not be
extradited to the United States where he faces charges that could result
in him spending the rest of his life in a maximum security prison for
publishing true information that revealed war crimes committed by the
U.S. government.”
This
is the latest stage in more than three years of legal proceedings in UK
courts, as the US government has made its case to extradite Assange in
order to try him on 18 counts in connection with WikiLeaks’ publication
of hundreds of thousands of leaked classified documents that informed
public interest reporting around the world. Although the first instance
court ruled against extradition on mental health grounds, the Court of
Appeals overturned the decision in consideration of diplomatic
assurances presented by the US government. Assange would be the first
publisher prosecuted under the Espionage Act, which lacks a public
interest defense. He faces a combined total sentence of a possible 175
years in prison.
RSF is the only NGO to have monitored the entire extradition proceedings despite extensive barriers to observation. In April 2023, RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire and Director of Campaigns Rebecca Vincent were arbitrarily barred access to
visit Assange in Belmarsh prison, where he has been held on remand for
more than four years. RSF continues to seek access to the prison and to
campaign globally for Assange’s release.
-- REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS / REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÈRES (RSF) Peter Jones Press/Communications Officer, Washington, DC Bureau pjones@rsf.org (202) 813-9497, ext 3