WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was granted a temporary reprieve from extradition to the United States on Tuesday, as the High Court in London ruled that he could pursue his appeal at a full hearing, provided the U.S. does not offer satisfactory assurances regarding his First Amendment rights and the possibility of facing the death penalty. The court has given the U.S. until April 16 to provide these assurances, failing which Assange will be granted leave to appeal.
Assange, who has been fighting extradition for more than a decade, including seven years in self-exile at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and the last five in the high-security Belmarsh Prison, faces 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse in the U.S. over WikiLeaks' publication of classified documents almost 15 years ago. American prosecutors argue that Assange put lives at risk when he helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files, which WikiLeaks subsequently published.
However, Assange's attorneys contend that he was engaging in regular journalistic practice by obtaining and publishing classified information, and that the prosecution is politically motivated retaliation for WikiLeaks' exposure of U.S. government criminality. Edward Fitzgerald, Assange's lawyer, told the court on Tuesday that his client acted to expose U.S. government "criminality" and that extraditing him would result in a "flagrant denial of justice."
The case has significant implications for First Amendment protections and global media freedoms. Julia Hall, Amnesty International's expert on counterterrorism and criminal justice in Europe, stated last week, "The risk to publishers and investigative journalists around the world hangs in the balance. Should Julian Assange be sent to the US and prosecuted there, global media freedoms will be on trial, too."
Assange's legal troubles began in 2010 when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women. In 2012, he jumped bail and sought refuge inside the Ecuadorian Embassy, effectively trapping himself in the building. After the relationship soured, he was evicted from the embassy in April 2019 and immediately arrested by British police for breaching bail in 2012.
Although a British district court judge ruled against the extradition request in 2021, citing a real and "oppressive" risk of suicide, U.S. authorities won an appeal the following year after providing a series of assurances about how Assange would be treated if extradited, including a pledge that he could be transferred to his home country of Australia to serve his sentence.
Assange's wife, Stella Assange, whom he wed in prison in 2022, stated last month that her husband's health had deteriorated during years of confinement, warning, "If he's extradited, he will die." The Australian parliament has also called for Assange to be allowed to return to his homeland, with officials trying to lobby the U.S. to drop the extradition efforts or find a diplomatic solution that would allow his return to Australia.
The court has set another hearing for May 20 to determine if the assurances provided by the U.S. are satisfactory and to make a final decision on granting leave to appeal. If the assurances are deemed insufficient, Assange will be granted permission to appeal his extradition at a full hearing.
