UK court delays decision on Assange’s last-ditch extradition appeal bid
Two UK judges delayed a decision yesterday on whether to grant WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a last-ditch appeal against extradition to the United States, giving Washington three weeks to provide further “assurances” in the case.
The US wants the 52-year-old Australian citizen to stand trial there for WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of secret military and diplomatic files in 2010 relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Attempting to halt the process, Assange had suffered a string of court losses in the long-running legal saga, which his supporters see as a battle for media freedom.
But following two days of evidence last month, the judges in London said he had “a real prospect of success” on three of his nine grounds of appeal.
Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson gave Washington three weeks to allay concerns that he will be prejudiced at trial because he is not an American citizen and that he could face the death penalty if convicted.
“Before making a final decision on the application for leave to appeal, we will give the respondent a chance to give assurances,” the pair wrote in their ruling.
“If assurances are not given then we will grant leave to appeal without a further hearing.
“If assurances are given then we will give the parties an opportunity to make further submissions before we make a final decision.”
Yesterday’s ruling, which was released online, means Assange will remain at the high-security prison in southeast London where has been held since 2019.
He did not attend February’s hearing either in person or remotely due to illness. (AFP)