(Ken Silva, Headline USA) On Feb. 20, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has what will likely be his final appeal hearing to oppose extradition from the UK to the U.S. to stand trial for allegedly violating the Espionage Act—charges that stem from him publishing leaked records about U.S. war crimes.
“The two-day hearing may be the final chance for Julian Assange to prevent his extradition to the United States,” Assange’s wife, Stella Assange, said Thursday on Twitter.
“If extradited, Assange faces a sentence of 175 years for exposing war crimes committed by the United States in the Afghan and Iraq wars.”
Stella called for all of Assange’s supporters—which range from libertarians and conservatives such as Kentucky legislators Sen. Rand Paul and Thomas Massie to left-wing politicians such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—to organize protests around the globe in support of the embattled journalist.
“Day X is here,” she said. “Gather outside the court at 8:30am on both days. It’s now or never.”
Assange has been confined in the high-security Belmarsh Prison since he was arrested on a U.S. extradition request on April 11, 2019.
This is the last chance for British courts to show independence rather than obeying US orders to keep Assange imprisoned and send him to the US.
Press freedom groups are unanimous that the Biden DOJ's prosecution of Assange is the gravest threat to press freedom in the West. https://t.co/M9qJHxhRcM
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 19, 2023
Meanwhile, the FBI is reportedly still investigating Assange.
Journalist James Ball wrote in Rolling Stone in July that Biden’s Justice Department and the FBI are pursing “vague threats and pressure tactics” to pressure British journalists to cooperate with their prosecution of Assange.
Also in July, Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected the Australian government’s calls to release Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is Australian.
“Mr. Assange was charged with very serious criminal conduct in the United States in connection with his alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of our country,” Blinken said at the time.
Assange was largely supported by liberals until around 2016, when Wikileaks published more than 20,000 Democratic National Committee emails, exposing corruption in the Hillary Clinton campaign. Because this was perceived to be helpful to Trump, liberals turned on Assange and supported his prosecution.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
