Julian Assange - latest: Wikileaks founder put people at ‘grave and imminent risk’, court hears
Australian wanted by US authorities over alleged conspiracy to disclose national defence information
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Julian Assange put people at “grave and imminent risk” by including the names of people who helped the US in unredacted classified documents which he “indiscriminately and knowingly” published to the world, a court has heard.
The WikiLeaks founder failed to appear in the High Court for a second day running in his long-standing battle against extradition to the US, where he is accused of leaking confidential military secrets.
The 52-year-old Australian, who faces 17 charges of espionage and one of computer misuse, is wanted by US authorities 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.
His lawyers said that if extradited, he would face a “flagrant denial of justice” by prejudiced judges, and was being prosecuted for “ordinary journalistic practice”.
A judge ruled in 2021 that Assange should not be sent to the US, given there was a real risk of suicide, but ruled against him on all other issues.
Assange, who is in Belmarsh jail in London, is now seeking permission to challenge the judge’s dismissal of other parts of his case.
Read the events from court today below:
What has Assange been doing up till now?
Assange has been restricted in his movements for almost 14 years.
It started when Swedish authorities issued an arrest warrant for Assange in 2010 as they investigating an allegation of rape against him while he was in the country - and asked the UK to extradite Assange.
Assange was arrested by British police and after he lost an appeal against extradition he sought asylum in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, claiming the Swedish case would lead him to being sent to the US.
Assange spent seven years in the embassy before in 2019 he was detained by police again for breaching bail conditions connected to his arrest for the Swedish case. In the same year, Swedish authorities dropped their case against Assange.
Assange was given a 50-week prison sentence - and has remained at Belmarsh prison since, fighting his extradition to the US.
Labour MP calls Assange case an ‘attack on journalism'
Speaking on stage outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Labour MP for Coventry South Zarah Sultana said: “We know Julian is being targeted for exposing US war crimes.
“This isn’t just an attack on Julian, this is an attack on journalism, on the free press.
“Everyone who cares about free speech should care about this case, should care about the persecution of Julian, should care about the charges being dropped.”
“Thank you, solidarity, and let’s keep fighting,” she finished, to cheers and whistles from the crowd.
Supporters travel from Australia to protest outside London court
Jodie Asard travelled with her son from Adelaide, Australia, to support Assange’s appeal case.
Outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Ms Asard said: “We’ve come over from Australia to stand with our brothers and sisters here and to represent Australia and to make sure that the Australian Government knows that 88% of Australians want Julian Assange free and to be brought home.
“It’s probably the trial of the century to be honest in regards to free speech, free press and our right to know, so that’s why I’m here to stand with Julian and all these people here to call for him to be completely, safely released.”
Ms Asard added that the way Assange had been kept in a “three-by-two metre cell” in Belmarsh prison was “criminal”.
“He is being abused, in my opinion, institutionally abused by our Western governments,” she added.
Assange supporters describe hearing as ‘most important freedom of speech case in the 21st century’
One speaker on a stage outside the Royal Courts of Justice welcomed protesters to the “most important freedom of speech case in the 21st century”.
He was greeted with cheers and claps from the crowd of protesters. Tim Dawson, deputy general secretary at the International Federation of Journalists, then took to the stage.
He said: “Be under no illusions, if this prosecution is successful, other vital cases will never come to light.”
“Free Julian Assange, support journalism and safeguard free speech,” he finished, to claps and cheers from the audience.
Lawyer for the US says Assange put ‘safety of individuals at serious risk'
James Lewis KC, for the US, said in written submissions that Assange’s conduct is “consistently and repeatedly misrepresented” in the appeal bid.
The barrister described the amount of classified material provided to Assange as “unprecedented”, adding: “The appellant threatened damage to the strategic and national security interests of the United States and put the safety of individuals at serious risk.”
Mr Lewis, who is expected to make oral arguments on behalf of the US on Wednesday, added that the original judge ruled Assange was not being prosecuted for political reasons but “because he is alleged to have committed serious criminal offences”.
“This decision is unimpeachable and there is no error to show that the district judge got it wrong,” he continued.
He added that it was “simply not credible” that a journalist would be immune from criminal prosecution in these circumstances.
Watch: Protests outside High Court where Julian Assange fighting US extradition
Watch live: Protests outside High Court where Julian Assange fighting US extradition
Watch a live view of the High Court in London, where protesters have gathered, as Julian Assange’s legal challenge against extradition to the US begins on Tuesday 20 February.
Letters: The treatment of Julian Assange could be the end of democracy
If Julian Assange is extradited to America, that will be the end of democracy in Britain. Assange has done nothing wrong; we should all be very grateful for his exposure of the murderous actions of American troops.
America, in my opinion, does not have a justice system, it has a legal system designed purely for the enrichment of the legal profession. I have more respect for the “oldest profession” than I do for the legal profession. It should never be a question of whether it is legal or illegal, it should be a question of whether it is right or is it wrong.
Read the full article here
Letters: The treatment of Julian Assange could be the end of democracy
Letters to the editor: our readers share their views. Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk
What is WikiLeaks?
Assange founded the website WikiLeaks in 2006. Using his computing skills, he created an online platform for people to anonymously submit classified leaks such as documents and videos.
Since its birth it has released around 10 million classified documents, including files on US military activities in the US.
It rose to prominence in April 2010 when it published a classified video showing a 2007 US helicopter attack in Iraq’s capital Baghdad that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters journalists.
On the Afghanistan war, it’s claimed more than 90,000 classified US military documents were released and on the invasion of Iraq around 400,000 confidential US files.
The leaks, described as the largest security breaches of their kind in US military history, angered and embarrassed US politicians and military officials who claimed the disclosure put lives at risk.
But defenders of the website say it reveals unreported incidents including the killing of civilians.
Julian Assange’s wife appears to compare WikiLeaks founder to Alexei Navalny
Julian Assange’s wife appears to compare WikiLeaks founder to Alexei Navalny
Julian Assange’s wife appeared to compare her husband to Russian politician and Putin critic Alexei Navalny, whose death was announced last week as he served a sentence in a remote Arctic prison. The WikiLeaks founder, who has been held in London’s Belmarsh prison, is appealing against extradition to the US where he faces charges of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information after the publication of intelligence files on the website. “Political prisoners die in prison. That’s what happens. We’ve seen it just last week with what happened to Navalny, and what happened to Navalny could happen to Julian,” Stella Assange said on Tuesday (20 February).
Julian Assange’s brother says WikiLeaks founder is ‘suffering’ with health ‘deteriorating’ in prison
Julian Assange’s brother has said the WikiLeaks founder’s health is deteriorating in Belmarsh Prison as he prepares to face his final bid for appeal against extradition to the US.
Assange, 51, has been held in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison for almost five years while US authorities seek to extradite him to face trial on espionage charges linked to the publication of hundreds of thousands of documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
In a January 2021 ruling, then-district judge Vanessa Baraitser said that Assange should not be extradited, but authorities in the US subsequently brought a successful challenge against this decision.
Read the full article here
Julian Assange’s brother says health is deteriorating in Belmarsh prison
Wikileaks founder is wanted on 18 charges by the US government
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