Britain begins hearing US case for extraditing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. A ruling against Assange in the case could see him imprisoned for 175 years. The case has 48-year-old Assange facing 17 charges in the US Espionage Act and one act of computer hacking.
Each charge stems from his site's release in 2010 of a trove of classified State Department and Pentagon files detailing the realities of the US campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. Britain's Crown Prosecution Service says the court will consider whether "the conduct described (by the US Justice Department) amounts to an extradition offence". The case will be heard in two sessions— this week and in May.
Among the leaks were files that disclosed secret identities of diplomats and government agents in hostile environments and of locals who risked their lives by cooperating with the United States.
The names of the diplomats were later redacted from reports in Western newspapers. A fallout with the editors of these papers led to Assange releasing hundreds of thousands of files in their original form.
On Saturday, several supporters of Assange from across Europe gathered in London. It included renowned designer Vivienne Westwood and former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. Protesters were holding banners that read 'Journalism is not a crime'.
Assange's father John Shipton too was present among them. Assange is a hero of sorts for admirers for bringing to light American abuses. Assange was a refuge in Ecuador’s London embassy. He was removed from the embassy and arrested in April for not surrendering to court.
Assange's lawyers, as per reports, might plan to seek asylum for him in France. While being held in the British prison, several doctors had written an open letter to UK Home Secretary saying that they fear Assange might die in prison. They even made a case for his mental health due to being continuously exposed to arbitrariness and abuse.
According to supporters of Assange, his trial has been political and personal from the beginning. Committee to Protect Journalists said, “For the sake of press freedom, Julian Assange must be defended.”
Trump, on Wednesday, had said that he will issue a pardon if Assange denied Russia leaked the emails of his 2016 election rival's campaign.
