Extradition

Letter: On The Matter Of Assange’s Lawyers Considering A Cross Appeal

February 25, 2021 Alexander Mercouris, Consortium News. Educate! Extradition, Julian Assange, Press Freedom, Wikileaks

Julian Assange’s lawyers are considering bringing a cross appeal to the High Court in London disputing parts of District Judge Vanessa Baraitser’s Jan. 4 judgment not to extradite Assange to the United States, according to a report by journalist Tareq Haddad. Baraitser refused the U.S. request on narrow grounds, saying Assange’s extradition would put his life and health at risk. But Baraitser sided with the U.S. on every other point of law and fact, making it clear that in the absence of the life and health issues she would have granted the U.S. request. That opens the way for the U.S. government to seek the extradition of other persons, including journalists, who do the same things as Assange did, but who cannot rely on the same life and health issues.

The Atrocious Prosecution Of Julian Assange

February 21, 2021 Eve Ottenberg, Counterpunch. Educate! Extradition, Joe Biden, Julian Assange, Press Freedom

What do Biden and Trump have in common? (Aside from jerking Iran around over the nuclear treaty, proclaiming support for a phony, unelected pretender to the Venezuelan presidency, Juan Guaido, and posturing aggressively toward China?) Both Biden and Trump support the utterly baseless Espionage Act case against journalist and publisher Julian Assange. Make no mistake, this case is a frontal assault on the first amendment. It is also one of the worst attacks on a free press in centuries. But that hasn’t stopped Trump and Biden. With a pusillanimous press quiescent about Assange and unless Biden reverses course, these two presidents will have trashed the ability of journalists to report on military and government abuses.

Biden DOJ Files Appeal To Get Assange Extradited

February 15, 2021 Consortium News. Educate! Extradition, Joe Biden, Julian Assange, Press Freedom

The liberal administration of Joe Biden proved itself to be no less an enemy of press freedom than Donald Trump when it filed an appeal at the UK High Court on Friday to get their hands on the journalist Julian Assange. The appeal seeks to overturn a decision by Magistrate Vanessa Baraitser, who on Jan. 4, ruled that the WikiLeaks publisher was at heightened risk of suicide if he were to be extradited to the United States and face life in a U.S. super max prison. Amnesty International on Thursday had joined an array of press freedom and human rights organizations, including Reporters Without Borders and Human Rights Watch, in urging the Biden administration to drop the case against Assange.

Assange Prosecution, Launched By Trump Justice Department, Will Continue Under Biden

February 10, 2021 Kevin Gosztola, The Dissenter. Educate! Extradition, Joe Biden, Julian Assange, Press Freedom

The Justice Department under President Joe Biden plans to continue the case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange that was launched under President Donald Trump. "We continue to seek his extradition," Justice Department spokesperson Marc Raimondi told Reuters, days before February 12, the deadline for the United States government to submit its "grounds for appeal." The statement represents a departure from President Barack Obama's administration, which declined to prosecute Assange. Justice Department officials were reportedly concerned about the threat it would pose to press freedom. On January 4, British district judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected the U.S. government's extradition request and concluded Assange's mental condition was "such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America."

Biden Administration To Seek Extradition Of Julian Assange

February 9, 2021 Mark Hosenball, Reuters. Educate! Extradition, Joe Biden, Julian Assange, Press Freedom

Washington, DC - President Joe Biden’s administration plans to continue to seek to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the United Kingdom to the United States to face hacking conspiracy charges, the U.S. Justice Department said. Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi on Tuesday said the U.S. government will continue to challenge a British judge’s ruling last month that Assange should not be extradited to the United States because of the risk he would commit suicide. In a Jan. 4 ruling, the judge, Vanessa Baraitser, said, “I find that the mental condition of Mr. Assange is such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America.”

Assange Ruling Is A Blow Against A Free Press – A Closer Look

January 10, 2021 Mohamed Elmaazi, Jacobin Magazine. Educate! Extradition, Julian Assange, Press Freedom, Wikileaks

Judge Vanessa Baraitser’s decision to prevent Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States to face trial on espionage-related criminal charges is a partial victory for Assange, his family, and his supporters. Baraitser was not satisfied that US prison authorities would be able to prevent the award-winning journalist from taking his life, given the conditions of solitary confinement and isolation that he would likely face during pre-trial detention and in the event of his conviction. However, in her ruling, the judge made clear that Assange would have been extradited, if it weren’t for his “substantial risk” of committing suicide.

UK Judge Justifies CIA Spying On Assange

January 7, 2021 Ben Norton, The Grayzone. Educate! CIA, Extradition, Government Spying, Julian Assange

The British judge ruling in the US government’s extradition case against journalist Julian Assange justified a CIA spying operation targeting both the WikiLeaks publisher and the Ecuadorian government by pointing to debunked accusations published by CNN. Yet in a self-referential loop, the American media outlet’s dubious claims about Assange themselves originated with a security firm that was spying on Assange for the CIA – and which is now facing prosecution in Spain for illegal activity. While the UK judge ultimately decided not to extradite Assange, citing his deteriorating mental health and the likelihood of suicide in the draconian US prison system, her judgement nevertheless echoed and...

Police Arrest Several People Near Court After Assange’s Bail Denied

January 7, 2021 Sputnik News. Resist! Bail, Extradition, Julian Assange, Press Freedom

London - The police arrested several supporters of Assange who did not have press IDs and refused to disperse as the city is currently under a lockdown and public gatherings prohibited. Among the detained are several women and an elderly man. Journalists with proper identifications were allowed to continue their work. Earlier in the day, Westminster Magistrates Court refused to release Assange on bail, leaving him incarcerated while a US appeal against the decision not to extradite him to the United States is considered. Assange was arrested in London in April 2019 and sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for jumping his bail back in 2012, when he took refuge inside the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK capital to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faced sexual assault charges and possible extradition to the United States.

Julian Assange Is Denied Bail By London Court

January 6, 2021 Paul Knaggs, Labour Heartlands. Educate! Bail, Extradition, Julian Assange, Wikileaks

“I am satisfied there are substantial grounds for believing that if Mr Assange is released today he would fail to surrender to court to face the appeal proceedings,” Judge Vanessa Baraitser said. “As far as Mr Assange is concerned this case has not yet been won… the outcome of this appeal is not yet known.” She was referring to the fact that Assange after failing in his battle against extradition to Sweden, breached bail and took refuge in the Embassy of Ecuador in London in June 2012. He was granted asylum by Ecuador on the grounds of political persecution, with the presumption that if he was extradited to Sweden, he would be eventually extradited to the US.

Assange’s Case Poses A Challenge To Biden’s DOJ If It Appeals Court’s Decision

January 6, 2021 Ekaterina Blinova, Sputnik News. Educate! DOJ, Extradition, Joe Biden, Julian Assange

On 4 January, UK District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will not be extradited to the US, where he is indicted by the US on 18 federal charges carrying a maximum sentence of 175 years in jail over alleged espionage and hacking which resulted in the publication of classified Afghan and Iraq war logs and State Department cables by WikiLeaks. The judge said the defendant, who suffers from clinical depression, could commit suicide in a US prison. The American government has signalled that it will appeal the British court's decision. Assange would hardly receive a fair trial if extradited to the US, Taylor Hudak, editor of acTIVism Munich and co-founder of Action4Assange believes...

Assange Wins. The Cost: Press Freedom Is Crushed

January 5, 2021 Jonathan Cook. Educate! Dissent, Extradition, Julian Assange, Press Freedom

The unexpected decision by Judge Vanessa Baraitser to deny a US demand to extradite Julian Assange, foiling efforts to send him to a US super-max jail for the rest of his life, is a welcome legal victory, but one swamped by larger lessons that should disturb us deeply. Those who campaigned so vigorously to keep Assange’s case in the spotlight, even as the US and UK corporate media worked so strenuously to keep it in darkness, are the heroes of the day. They made the price too steep for Baraitser or the British establishment to agree to lock Assange away indefinitely in the US for exposing its war crimes and its crimes against humanity in Iraq and Afghanistan. But we must not downplay the price being demanded of us for this victory.

Assange: Judge Denies United States’ Extradition Request

January 4, 2021 Kevin Gosztola, Shadowproof. Educate! Extradition, Julian Assange, Press Freedom, Wikileaks

Citing harsh federal prison conditions in the United States, a British district court judge rejected the United States government’s extradition request against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Judge Vanessa Baraitser accepted that Assange was diagnosed with a “recurrent depressive disorder.” Although he functions at a high level, she accepted he was diagnosed with autism as well. She accepted that he would likely be imprisoned at a supermax prison in the U.S. under special administrative measures (SAMs) and would find a way to commit suicide. “I am satisfied that, in these harsh conditions, Mr. Assange’s mental health would deteriorate causing him to commit suicide with the ‘single minded determination’ of his autism spectrum disorder,” Baraitser declared.

Stella Moris: If British Court Sends Julian Assange To The United States

January 4, 2021 Stella Moris, Globe and Mail. Educate! Extradition, Julian Assange, Press Freedom, United Kingdom (UK)

London - A month ago, I would wake up in the middle of the night seized by a recurring nightmare: my little boys, Max, 22 months, and Gabriel, who is three, had been orphaned. I was still here but their father was not. Their father is Julian Assange, the publisher of WikiLeaks. Today, that terrible nightmare is all too close to becoming a reality. Julian has been on remand in Belmarsh prison in South-East London for almost two years. He is fighting a political extradition to the United States, where he risks being buried in the deepest, darkest corner of the US prison system for the rest of his life. Julian embarrassed Washington and this is their revenge.

Protesters Gather In DC In Solidarity With Assange

January 4, 2021 Sam Carliner, Medium. Resist! Extradition, Julian Assange, Press Freedom, Wikileaks

Press freedom activists and independent journalists endured the cold and rain outside the British Embassy in Washington D.C. on Sunday Jan. 3. With less than 24 hours until a potential blow to the future of press freedom, the crowd of free speech advocates was there to make as much noise as possible. On Monday, Jan. 4, U.K. judge Vanessa Baraitser will announce if the U.K. government will extradite Australian journalist and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States. Assange faces up to 175 years in prison for charges under the Espionage Act. Leading press freedom and human rights groups have acknowledged that if Baraister rules in favor of extradition, it will set a dangerous precedent that journalists can be charged by the United States government for publishing truthful information.

Father Takes Assange’s Fight To New York

January 4, 2021 AAP Newswire, Shepparton News. Educate! Extradition, Julian Assange, Press Freedom, United States

The father of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has turned his focus from the UK to the US where he hopes a change of president could advantage his son. Assange is being held at London's Belmarsh Prison, pending a court decision on a warrant for his extradition to the US to face charges. A judgment is due to be handed down at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday, but Assange's father John Shipton won't be there. Mr Shipton says there's too much uncertainty about his ability to travel amid a series of border closures in the UK due to a mutant strand of coronavirus. "It's all up in the air like it is for everybody ... except the situation is more tenuous for Julian because it's 10 years long," he told AAP.

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