A British judge ruled Monday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should not be extradited to the United States to face charges of violating the Espionage Act, because he is at extreme risk of suicide, reports The Washington Post.
British Magistrate Vanessa Baraitser said the defense had provided compelling evidence that Assange suffers from severe depression, that he has written a will, sought absolution from a priest and a razor blade was found hidden in his cell at Belmarsh prison in London.
U.S. prosecutors will likely appeal to the High Court.
Vamos said if the U.S. government loses in the High Court, it can pursue a final appeal to Britain’s Supreme Court, which might agree to hear the case, especially if it raises new legal questions that need to be solved.
Assange's lawyers will seek to have him released on bail.
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-RWUPDATE: A bail application has been submitted by Assange's defense team, and will be heard this Wednesday at Westminster Magistrates Court.
— Patrick Henningsen (@21WIRE) January 4, 2021
Is this the same wicked judge who has been a total state tool during this entire saga, or someone new? Because Assange's incarceration-caused condition was entirely a result of the wicked judge, not the US government.
ReplyDeleteSame judge, but she followed the "science" produced into evidence. According to the Post article: "British District Judge Vanessa Baraitser did not object to the merits of the case. She rejected claims by Assange's legal team that the U.S. government was seeking to punish the 49-year-old Australian for his political opinions and that President Trump wanted his head on a pike.
ReplyDeleteThe judge said she had no doubt that Assange could have a fair trial with an impartial jury in the United States, and she was not concerned that his prosecution would upend protections for journalists and publishers. She said that in encouraging hackers to join the CIA or break into government computers to give WikiLeaks material to publish, Assange had not acted as a traditional investigative journalist.
But Baraitser blocked the high-profile extradition based on testimony from psychiatrists called by the defense, who stressed that Assange was actively planning to kill himself if ordered to face trial in the United States."