Tomorrow, London’s High Court will kick off proceedings for Julian Assange’s ultimate UK appeal, as he fights against extradition to the United States.
The case revolves around his role in publishing confidential military and diplomatic files.
Washington is pushing for the extradition of the 52-year-old Australian individual, who has faced charges on several occasions between 2018 and 2020.
These charges are linked to his alleged role in the release of documents by WikiLeaks relating to the US-led conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2010.
Britain’s lengthy legal saga is on the brink of resolution as Assange, having suffered repeated setbacks in recent years, nears the end of his courtroom battles.
Should this week’s two-day appeal, scheduled to commence at 10:30 am (1030 GMT) on Tuesday, succeed, Assange will secure another opportunity to present his case before a London court, paving the way for a future full hearing.
In case of an unfavorable outcome, Assange will have exhausted all possibilities for appeals in the UK and will transition into the extradition phase, although his legal team has signaled their intent to challenge the decision in European courts.
His wife, Stella Assange, has indicated that he will seek relief from the European Court of Human Rights to temporarily suspend the extradition proceedings if deemed necessary, citing fears that his life would be at stake should he be extradited to the United States.
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“Tomorrow and the day after will determine whether he lives or dies essentially, and he’s physically and mentally obviously in a very difficult place,” she told BBC radio on Monday.
Pressure continues to mount on US President Joe Biden from both domestic and international quarters, urging him to abandon the 18-count indictment faced by Assange in federal court in Virginia, a legal action initiated during the administration of his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Major media organizations, along with advocates for press freedom and members of the Australian parliament, are united in their criticism of the prosecution under the 1917 Espionage Act, a significant departure as it marks the first time it has been used to target the publication of classified information.
However, Washington has persisted with the case, asserting that Assange and fellow individuals at WikiLeaks orchestrated and collaborated with hackers to execute “one of the most extensive breaches of classified information” in US history.
Assange, imprisoned in the high-security Belmarsh Prison in southeast London since April 2019, was taken into custody following a seven-year period of seclusion within Ecuador’s London embassy.
He fled there to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faced accusations of sexual assault which were later dropped.
The High Court had blocked his extradition, but then reversed the decision on appeal in 2021 after the United States vowed to not imprison him in its most extreme prison, “ADX Florence”.
It also pledged not to subject him to the harsh regime known as “Special Administrative Measures”.
In March 2022, the UK’s Supreme Court refused permission to appeal, arguing Assange failed to “raise an arguable point of law”.
Months later, ex-interior minister Priti Patel formally signed off on his extradition, but Assange is now seeking permission to review that decision and the 2021 appeal ruling.
If found guilty in the United States, he could be sentenced to a maximum of 175 years behind bars.
Last week, Kristinn Hrafnsson, WikiLeaks’ editor-in-chief, informed reporters that the caveats embedded in the US assurances rendered them “not worth the paper they are written on”.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, on the same day, criticized the protracted legal pursuit of Assange, stating “enough is enough”.This action came after the country’s parliament passed a motion urging for an end to his prosecution.
Assange shares two children with his wife Stella, who is a lawyer he met during her involvement in his case.