An exhibition dedicated to WikiLeaks founder and journalist Julian Assange opened at the European Parliament on Tuesday evening (6 February) ahead of the UK High Court’s decision on his extradition to the US, due to take place on 20-21 February, Euractiv reports.
Assange has been in London’s Belmarsh prison since April 2019, wanted by US authorities on 18 charges after leaking US army documents and diplomatic dispatches about the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. If found guilty, he faces a prison sentence of up to 175 years.
The exhibition, titled “The Assange Case: Awards and Rewards” features a number of awards, an honorary citizenship of the Italian city of Naples, and artwork depicting the WikiLeaks founder and his family. The Italian 5 Stars Movement MEP Sabina Pignedoli, who promoted the exhibition in the European Parliament premises in Strasbourg, told Euractiv during the evening’s inauguration:
“We have chosen to display the awards received by Julian Assange to highlight his support from both institutional and civil society levels.”
Several MEPs, including Pignoli, will be assisting in the trial in London and asked to be present in the hall to “express our support for him”, the MEP explained.
On the same day, several civil society organisations will hold protests against Assange’s extradition in various European cities. Stella Assange, a lawyer, human rights activist and Julian’s wife, told Euractiv:
“The hearing at the end of February is likely to be Julian Assange’s last public hearing in the UK. If he loses this round, he will have exhausted all domestic remedies in the UK, which will move to extradite him.”
Stella Assange also told Euractiv that the WikiLeaks founder will try to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to block the extradition. She explained during the event, which was also attended by Dominique Pradalieu, president of the International Federation of Journalists:
“This is a very critical moment, we are trying to gather as much attention.”
Julian Assange was among the 2,022 finalists for the Sakharov Prize, an EU parliamentary award given to individuals, groups or organisations that contribute to the defence of freedom of thought. Stella told Euractiv in an interview in December 2022 during the Sakharov Prize ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg:
“The US needs to hear from its allies that this is intolerable, that it affects EU values and interests because it is the US reaching beyond its borders, claiming jurisdiction into the European space in order to limit press freedoms and the public’s right to the truth by criminalising journalism.”
