Julian Assange’s lawyers will begin the final trial in the United Kingdom on Tuesday to prevent the WikiLeaks founder from being sent to the United States to face espionage charges, ABC News reports.
Assange has been fighting extradition for more than a decade, including seven years in exile in the Ecuadorian embassy in London and the last five years in a high-security prison.
If the judges rule against Assange, he could ask the European Court of Human Rights to block his extradition, although supporters fear he could be put on a plane flying to the US before that happens. Proponents are planning demonstrations outside the courthouse on both days with a march to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Downing Street office at the end of the hearing.
Judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson may reach a verdict following a two-day hearing on Wednesday, but it could take several weeks before they announce a final judgement. Reporters Without Borders stated:
This hearing marks the beginning of the end of the extradition case, as any grounds rejected by these judges cannot be further appealed in the UK bringing Assange dangerously close to extradition.
Assange, an Australian citizen, has been indicted on 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misconduct in connection with the publication of classified US documents on his website. US prosecutors allege he helped US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic and military data that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.
The legal issues for Assange began in 2010 when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted to interrogate him over allegations of rape and sexual assault filed by two women.
In 2012, British police immediately arrested him for violating his bail conditions. He found refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy, where he was beyond the reach of the UK and Swedish authorities, but was effectively a prisoner of the tiny diplomatic mission.
He was eventually evicted from the embassy in 2019. Throughout the extradition struggle, he was held in London’s Belmarsh Prison. Sweden dropped the sex offence investigation in November 2019 due to the statute of limitations.
Assange’s lawyers argue that he could face up to 175 years in prison if convicted, although US authorities have stated that the sentence is likely to be much shorter.
A UK district court judge rejected a US extradition request in 2021 on the grounds that Assange would likely commit suicide if held in harsh US prison conditions. High courts overturned the ruling after receiving assurances from the US about his treatment. The British government signed an extradition order in June 2022.
Meanwhile, the Australian parliament last week called for Assange to be allowed to return to his homeland, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declaring:
Regardless of where people stand, this thing cannot just go on and on and on indefinitely.
