Assange extradition to U.S. blocked
LONDON — A British judge ruled Monday that WlldLeaks founder flan Assange cannot be extradit-ed to the United States to face trial on charges of violating the Espio-nage Act, saying he would be at ex-treme risk of suicide.
The decision in the high-profile case grants Assange a major victo-ry against U.S. authorities who charged him over his role in ob-taining and publishing secret mil-itary and diplomatic documents related to the wars In Iraq and Af-ghanistan.
Assange, 49, who was present at Monday's hearing and wearing a face mask, was indicted in 2019 on 17 counts of violating the Espio-nage Act and conspiring to hack govemment computers in 2010 and 2011. If found guilty on all counts he could face a sentence of up to 173 years in prison.
The judge, Vanessa Baraitser of Westminster Magistrates' Court, said in Mondays ruling that she was satisfied that U.S. authorities had brought forth the case "In good faith," and that Assange's ac-tions went beyond simply encour-aging a journalist. But she said there was evidence of a risk to As-sange's health if he were to face tri-al in the United States, noting that she found "Mr. Assange's risk of committing suicide, if an extradi-tion order were to be made, to be substantial"
The ruling Monday at the Cen-tral Criminal Court In London, known as the Old Halley, was a ma-jor turning point in a legal struggle that has spanned nearly a decade. But that battle is likely to drag on, as U.S. prosecutors indicated they would appeal the decision. They have two weeks to do so.
Assange, who is Australian, rose to prominence in 2010 by publish-Mg documents provided by for-mer U.S. Army Intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. He then took refuge at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to escape extradition to Sweden, where he faced an inqui-ry into rape allegations that was later dropped. In the meantime, he kept running WikiLeaks as a self-proclaimed political refugee. He spent seven years there before his arrest by British police in 2019.