LONDON (AP) – A British judge on Monday rejected the request of the United States to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges, saying he would probably kill himself if he under strict U.S. prison conditions.
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled that extradition would be “oppressive” because of Assange’s mental health.
She said Assange was “a depressed and sometimes desperate man” who had the “mind and determination” to circumvent the preventive measures taken by the prison authorities.
The U.S. government has said it will appeal against the decision. Assange’s lawyers plan to seek release from a London jail where he has been detained for more than a year and a half.
U.S. prosecutors have charged Assange with 17 counts of espionage and one count of computer abuse following WikiLeaks’ publication of leaked military and diplomatic documents a decade ago. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.
Advocates for the 49-year-old Australian claim he is acting as a journalist and is entitled to the first amendment of freedom of speech for the publication of leaked documents exposing US military offenses in Iraq and Afghanistan.
However, the judge said that Assange’s actions, if proven, would amount to violations in this jurisdiction that would not be protected by his right to freedom of speech. ”
But she said Assange suffered from moderate to severe clinical depression, which would be exacerbated by the isolation he was likely to encounter in the U.S. prison.
The defense argued during a three-week trial in the fall that the extradition of Assange’s human rights was threatened because he risked an “excessive sentence” and detention in a “draconian and inhuman state” that would cause his severe depression and other mental health problems. aggravate.
U.S. government lawyers deny that Assange was prosecuted simply for publishing the leaked documents, saying the case was “largely based on his illegal involvement” in the theft of diplomatic cables and military files by U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.
The prosecution of Assange has been condemned by journalists and human rights groups, who believe it undermines freedom of speech around the world.
“The mere fact that this case has penetrated the court, let alone for so long, is a historic, large-scale attack on freedom of speech,” said Kristinn Hrafnsson, spokeswoman for WikiLeaks. “It is a struggle that affects everyone’s right to know, and that is fought together.”
Assange’s legal problems began in 2010 when he was arrested at the request of Sweden in London, who wanted to question him about the allegations of rape and sexual assault by two women. In 2012, to avoid being sent to Sweden, Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy, where he was out of reach of British and Swedish authorities – but also a prisoner who did not complete the small diplomatic mission in London’s Knightsbridge. could not leave area.
The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually deteriorated, and he was expelled from the embassy in April 2019. British police arrested him immediately after he jumped bail in 2012.
Sweden dropped the investigation into sex crimes in November 2019 because so much time has passed, but Assange remains in the Belmarsh prison in London with high security, who was brought to court in a prison car during the extradition hearing.