UK High Court Delays Decision on Assange US Extradition

Facts

• The UK High Court has delayed a decision concerning whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may be extradited to the US until May 20 — concluding that the journalist holds arguable grounds for appeal that require assurances from the US.¹
• Judge Dame Victoria Sharp dismissed six of Assange's nine appeals but found Assange's claims that extradition was incompatible with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights credible.²
• Consequently, the Court ruled that the US must guarantee Assange, an Australian citizen, that he will be protected from the death penalty and that he will receive First Amendment rights. If these assurances are not made, the Court stated it will grant Assange's appeal.³
• The Court's adjournment until May 20 is dependent on the US providing its assurances by April 16. Further written responses in response to the filing of such guarantees are allowed until April 30 and May 14 for Assange and the US, respectively.²
• The judgment comes following a two-day hearing by the High Court's King's Bench Division in February. Assange is seeking permission to appeal a High Court Queen's Bench Division extradition ruling from Dec. 2021 — itself the product of a US appeal to overturn a district court ruling 11 months prior.⁴
• Assange's case concerns charges filed against him by the US in 2019, including 17 counts of espionage and one count of computer intrusion for obtaining and publishing material "related to the national defense" on WikiLeaks in 2010 with the help of former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.⁵

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²Judiciary.UK, ³Associated Press, ⁴Verity, and ⁵CBS.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Eurasia Review. Assange must be freed. The illegitimate attacks by the American state against WikiLeaks founder for exposing the US' war crimes in Iraq are nothing short of disgraceful, constituting a level of persecution against whistleblowers previously unseen in American legal history. America is seeking to punish Assange for revealing the truth about their illegal military operations — journalism and transparency must be protected at all costs.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Washington Post. Julian Assange is no journalist. Not only did he publish millions of stolen classified documents, he indirectly helped repressive regimes in Iran and China, as well as terror organizations such as al-Qaida, by disseminating that material. Such actions put US soldiers and sources in extreme danger. The US Dept. of Justice is correct to go after him.

Predictions