“Loose coin”: what role can Brexit play in the future of Julian Assange

The lawsuit on the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States could take several years. This February 18, told reporters the chief editor of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsson. According to him, no matter the verdict was issued by the court, he will be challenged in the appellate court by one or another party.

“It will be a very long battle, such high-profile processes last a very long time ... It’s too early to say, but we may have to appeal, it may go to the Supreme Court ... If Julian wins, then we expect the opposite side to appeal, it will be a long process, ”said Hrafnsson.

At the same time, the journalist's lawyer Jennifer Robinson suggested that Julian Assange has little chance of securing bail.

• Julian Assange
• Reuters
• © Henry Nicholls

“Given the violation of the conditions of the previous bail, the judges so far refuse to bail. Of course, this is not a joyful prospect for him - to remain in prison all this time. The issue will remain under consideration, ”Assange defender told RIA Novosti.

She also believes that the extradition process could take several years.

As Robinson explained, the first round of extradition court hearings will take place next week, at which the parties will present their initial arguments. Hearings on which evidence of the positions will be given are scheduled for May. Then there will be hearings, in essence, at which evidence of the positions will be given.

Meanwhile, as the lawyer emphasized, the defendant’s health was thoroughly undermined - since 2010 it has “noticeably worsened”.

“Stop the torture”

The day before, a group of 117 doctors from 18 countries published an appeal in the reputable medical journal Lancet demanding an end to psychological torture and an end to medical negligence towards Assange.

According to doctors, earlier they had already tried to appeal to the British authorities with a corresponding appeal, but they did not receive any substantive answer. Meanwhile, UN Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, Niels Meltzer, previously reported that the founder of WikiLeaks is undergoing psychological torture. These conclusions were made by medical experts accompanying the UN representative during a visit to Assange.

Meltzer emphasized that he reported on his findings to the authorities of the countries involved in the fate of Assange - the UK, USA, Sweden and Ecuador. At the same time, the health status of Julian Assange could already become a threat to his life.

• British Prison Belmarsh
• Gettyimages.ru
• © Graeme Robertson

According to a statement by doctors, for several years at the Embassy of Ecuador, Julian Assange was deprived of full-fledged medical care, as British doctors were afraid of unwanted attention from law enforcement after visiting the founder of WikiLeaks.

“In the interests of protecting medical ethics, the authority of medicine and the human right to health, speaking out against torture, together we can condemn the abuses described in our letters and draw public attention to them. Our appeals to the states are simple: stop Assange’s torture and give him the best possible medical care before it’s too late. We ask others to join us, ”the appeal says.

For a long time Assange was in solitary confinement in the British Belmarsh prison, and only in January 2020 he was transferred to the common wing. This was told by the representative of WikiLeaks Joseph Farrell.

As Kristinn Hrafnsson noted, this had a beneficial effect on the condition of the founder of WikiLeaks.

“His condition improved thanks to the efforts of a team of lawyers, the public, and, oddly enough, other Belmarsh prisoners who opposed his solitary confinement,” Hrafnsson said.

It should be noted that on the eve of the extradition hearings, which will begin next week, attention to the fate of Julian Assange was shown by Australian lawmakers. Two deputies arrived in London - the co-chairs of the parliamentary group for the return of Julian Assange to Australia, member of the Liberal National Party George Christensen and independent member of the parliament Andrew Wilkie. According to Wilkie, Assange’s extradition to the United States could be a dangerous precedent.

“There will be a precedent that if you are a journalist who does what the government of a country does not like, you may well be at risk of extradition. This case is politicized, and not only Julian Assange’s life is at stake, but also the future of all journalism, ”the Guardian deputy quotes.

However, experts doubt that the indignation of the public, lawmakers and the media will be able to somehow influence the fate of Julian Assange.

As Natalya Kapitonova, a professor at MGIMO, explained in an interview with RT, public opinion regarding Assange was divided in the UK.

“On the Assange side, the entire progressive public — leftists, Labor and liberal democrats. But when did public opinion stop governments?

You can recall how in early 2003, demonstrations were gathered against the invasion of Iraq in the UK. But the war was still started. This time, the government will also act in a way that will be beneficial to it, ”Kapitonova predicts.

“There will be a serious scandal”

Recall that an Australian-born journalist Julian Assange gained fame in 2006 by creating a resource for publishing classified documents WikiLeaks. In 2010, a video of a U.S. Air Force air strike in the vicinity of Baghdad appeared on the site, which showed that civilians were killed in the attack. In the same year, the site began to publish a database of American diplomatic correspondence, which totaled about 250 thousand documents, as a result of which Assange became interested in Washington.

• Embassy of Ecuador in London
• Reuters
• © Peter Nicholls

Expecting to protect himself and his resource, Assange moved to Sweden. However, a criminal case was opened against him on charges of rape. The journalist completely denied his guilt, claiming political motivation for the persecution.

Assange moved to London, where he was arrested, and then released on bail. In 2011, a British court decided to extradite the journalist to Sweden, after which Assange turned to the Ecuadorian authorities in search of political asylum. He took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK, where he stayed until April last year. At the same time, in May 2017, the Swedish prosecutor's office closed the rape case.

However, in the spring of 2019, Ecuador transferred the journalist into the hands of the British police, the court found Assange guilty of violating the conditions of release on bail and sentenced him to 11 months in prison.

The sentence aroused criticism at the UN: according to the members of the organization’s working group on the issue of arbitrary detention, the punishment does not correspond to the violation committed by Assange. In addition, UN experts found the decision of the authorities to keep Assange in a maximum security prison unjustified.

According to Natalia Kapitonova, London did not imprison Julian Assange on his own initiative - such was the demand of the United States, which the British authorities could not ignore.

“Of course, if Assange is extradited to the United States, there will be a serious scandal, because this will mean that he was sent to certain death. But, on the other hand, Milosevic died in prison, and no one was held responsible for this, ”said the expert.

A similar point of view is shared by Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of Moscow State Pedagogical University.

“In this case, London does not act as an independent sovereign state, but fulfills the will of the United States as a junior partner, and all the actions that are being carried out now are essentially illegal,” Shapovalov emphasized in an interview with RT.

Recall that the United States is demanding that Great Britain transfer Assange into the hands of American justice. In the United States, he was charged in absentia with illegal receipt and publication of information related to the country's defense. In total, on all counts, Assange may face up to 175 years in prison.

Priority partner

According to experts, Brexit could be a negative factor for Julian Assange. Having left the European Union, Great Britain is particularly in dire need of strengthening trade, economic and political ties with third countries. First of all, we are talking about the traditional ally and partner of London - Washington. As British Foreign Trade Secretary Elizabeth Truss noted in early February, the government expects to conclude a mutually beneficial trade agreement with the United States, which should facilitate British companies' access to the US market.

• Reuters
• © Gary Hershorn

“Boris Johnson needs a profitable trade union with the United States. Negotiations with Washington will be difficult, it is impossible to quarrel with him - this is what Britain's interests require, especially at this stage. And here the figure of Assange, which can be sacrificed for the sake of higher interests, is quite useful, it can become a bargaining chip in these relations, ”said Natalia Kapitonova.

A similar opinion is shared by Vladimir Shapovalov. According to him, the desire to create a mutually beneficial alliance with the United States may well serve as a motive for the issue of Assange to the American side.

“Now for the UK it is extremely important to find support outside the EU, to achieve economic rapprochement with the United States. And, of course, if the American partners ask in return for some concessions on the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder, London is unlikely to resist, ”Shapovalov summed up.