Julian Assange must wait to see if his final UK bid to bring an appeal over his extradition to the United States can go ahead at the High Court. The WikiLeaks founder faces extradition to the US over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Many of Assange’s supporters gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday and Wednesday as the hearing took place. Report by Jonesia. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 This is Julian Assange's last-ditch bid to avoid extradition to the United States - a
00:07 two-day hearing at the High Court in London.
00:10 The US is seeking to prosecute Assange over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose
00:15 national defence information following the publication of leaked documents in 2010 related
00:22 to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
00:24 Supporters of the WikiLeaks founder gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday
00:29 and Wednesday, fearful of what an extradition would mean for Assange and for freedom of
00:34 the press.
00:35 "Julian is very appreciative of all the concern by the press and the community support.
00:42 Julian is a political prisoner and he has to be released."
00:46 They were joined in spirit by similar protests in Paris and Berlin.
00:51 The Australian national spent seven years between 2012 and 2019 at the Ecuadorian embassy
00:57 in London, where the South American country granted him political asylum.
01:02 After Ecuador revoked his asylum, Assange was arrested by the Metropolitan Police for
01:06 breaching bail conditions.
01:08 He faced an extradition hearing in London in 2020, but a judge ruled in early 2021 that
01:15 Assange should not be sent to the US.
01:18 Later that year, American authorities won a High Court bid to overturn this ruling.
01:23 Yesterday the High Court heard that the bid to prosecute Assange amounted to state retaliation
01:29 for his political opinions.
01:31 "In the extradition treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States, it says that
01:37 you cannot be extradited for political offences.
01:40 And the fact that this was not properly written into the Act of Parliament which recognised
01:48 the treaty is a loophole through which the United States is trying to drive a wholesale
01:53 attack on a free press."
01:56 Today lawyers for the United States told the court that Assange had put lives at risk with
02:01 the release of unredacted classified documents, and that attempts to extradite and prosecute
02:06 Assange are based on his alleged actions, not his political opinions.
02:12 Many view Julian Assange as championing freedom of speech, and many an enemy of the state
02:17 - a decision on whether he can bring an appeal against extradition is expected at a later
02:22 date.
02:23 If he is extradited, Assange could face a prison sentence of 175 years.
02:29 (audience laughing)