Judgment could free Assange
FORMER Magnetic Islander Julian Assange was last night awaiting a key legal judgment that could see him leave the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he has been holed up for more than five years.
The decision on whether a UK arrest warrant should be dropped could mean the activist would be able to leave the Knightsbridge embassy as it’s the “only remaining action he’s got against him”, according to the UK Crown Prosecution Service.
It is reported that the WikiLeaks founder could have up to $ 25 million stashed in anonymous bitcoin accounts and that has led to speculation over what he might do next.
Assange’s UK lawyer Jennifer Robinson said regardless of the decision, the central concern remained the risk of extradition to the US.
“No one can credibly deny that risk,” she said. “The US AttorneyGeneral has said it is still a priority to prosecute Mr Assange. The head of the CIA has described WikiLeaks as a hostile non- state i n t e l l i g e n c e agency. In these c i r c u m s t a n c e s , we remain concerned about the risk of extradition to the US.”
Ms Robinson said the team continued to seek assurances Assange would not be deported and remain “very concerned” about the health impact of having lived more than five years without access to outdoor space.
“There is a grave threat to free speech,” she said. “The US is seeking to criminalise the publication of information in the public interest by equating it with espionage. This must be resisted.”
The comments follow a January 26 hearing in which Assange’s lawyers argued charges against him for skipping bail should be dropped because the arrest warrant from Swedish authorities they related to had expired.
The UK Crime Prosecution Service argued the warrant should stand.