"Political case": why a London court allowed Julian Assange's extradition to the United States

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, criticized the ruling of the British court, which allowed the extradition of the founder of the WikiLeaks project, Julian Assange, to the United States.

“This shameful verdict in the framework of a political case against a journalist and a public figure is another manifestation of the cannibalistic worldview of the Anglo-Saxon tandem,” the diplomat wrote on her Telegram channel.

According to Zakharova, with this verdict, the West "honorably" marked the International Day of Human Rights and the end of the summit for democracy, organized by the United States.

The Russian Permanent Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called the ruling of the London High Court on Human Rights Day "sad news".

The ministry noted that the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media "must keep this issue under close control."

As the doctor of political sciences, professor of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry Vladimir Shtol noted in the RT commentary, the concept of "democracy" and what is happening with Assange are "two completely incompatible things."

According to the expert, the principles interpreted by the Anglo-Saxon countries do not at all correspond to the real content of their policies. 

“One of the cornerstones of democracy in Anglo-Saxon countries is the inviolability of freedom of speech and freedom of investigative journalism on any topic.

In the case of Assange, we are witnessing a case initiated clearly for political reasons, moreover, by the most “democratic” and “free” country in the world - the United States, ”Stoll emphasized.

In turn, political scientist Vladimir Kornilov, in a conversation with RT, expressed confidence that the United States, with the hands of British justice, actually dealt with Assange precisely for his professional activities.

“This case was initially political.

Assange spread the truth, fulfilled his civic duty, publishing socially significant documents for the United States and Western countries.

The trial over him once again demonstrates the hypocrisy of the West, ”Kornilov said.

"Became a target"

On December 10, a high court in London upheld the US appeal and allowed Assange's extradition from the UK.

Judge Timothy Holroyd said the case of the WikiLeaks founder will be returned to the Westminster court.

He, in turn, must send the materials of the case to the British Home Secretary Prity Patel.

The final decision on extradition should be made by her, specifies the BBC.

At the same time, Holroyd admitted that Assange could indeed be sent overseas, but the consideration of this issue is likely to be delayed.

The judge did not rule out that the case of the founder of WikiLeaks will reach a higher court.

Assange's fiancée Stella Morris told WikiLeaks that an appeal against the London High Court ruling will be filed shortly.

• Julian Assange

• AFP

• © Daniel Leal

In a commentary to RT en Español, Assange's Ecuadorian lawyer Carlos Poveda said that there are nuances according to which the extradition decision can be reviewed by the UK Supreme Court.

“It will be necessary to appeal to the Supreme Court, there are still many arguments that it must consider.

I continue to fight for Assange's freedom.

It is unfair to keep him in custody when there is no crime or punishment for him, ”Poveda said.

Recall that in early January 2021, the Westminster Magistrates' Court refused to extradite Assange to the United States due to his depressed psychological state.

Thus, the court took the side of the defense, which expressed fears that the journalist could commit suicide, and the American authorities were not able to provide guarantees for his safety.

Meanwhile, at a court hearing on December 10, Stella Morris said that there is a real threat of the murder of her fiancé by American special services.

According to Morris, Assange cannot be extradited to a state that "conspired to kill him." 

“Today is International Human Rights Day.

What a disgrace.

How cynical.

To make this decision on such a day, to detain one of the most prominent journalists of the last 50 years in a British prison on charges of publishing the truth about war crimes and CIA assassination groups.

Julian exposed the CIA's torture and murder crimes.

Now we know that these killers from the CIA were going to kill him too, ”Morris is quoted by the British television channel Sky News.

Wikileaks editor-in-chief Christinn Hrafnsson told reporters that the life of the portal's founder "is again in grave danger, as is the right of journalists to publish material that is inconvenient for governments and corporations."

"We are talking about the right of a free press to publish materials without being threatened by an aggressive superpower (meaning the United States. -

)," Hrafnsson quoted the BBC as saying.

The London High Court ruling was condemned by a number of international organizations: Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International, International Federation of Journalists.

Thus, Reporters Without Borders published an appeal on its website calling for an end to any persecution of Assange and release him from custody.

The organization fears that if extradited, the United States could jail him for life, since the cumulative sentence on all charges reaches 175 years.

Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders Christophe Deloire on his Twitter page drew attention to the fact that the decision of the High Court of London symbolically coincided with the US-led summit for democracy and the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to two journalists.

“We are championing this cause because of its dangerous implications for the future of press freedom around the world.

The time has come to put an end once and for all to this persecution that has been going on for more than ten years.

It's time to release Assange, ”wrote Deloire.

We defend this case because of its dangerous implications for the future of press freedom around the world.

It is time to put a stop to this more than decade-long persecution once and for all.

It is time to free Assange.

- Christophe Deloire (@cdeloire) December 10, 2021

The head of Reporters Without Borders stressed that the organization condemns the London court ruling.

From RSF's perspective, Assange "was targeted because of his contributions to journalism."

Recall that the founder of the WikiLeaks project was detained by security officials from Scotland Yard in April 2019 at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

The whistleblower was in the building of the diplomatic mission of this South American state since June 2012 and used the political asylum of Quito (the capital of Ecuador -

).

However, almost seven years later, the President of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno, refused Assange's patronage under the pretext of repeated violations of "international conventions."

Assange's associates explained the decision of the head of Ecuador by the publication on WikiLeaks of information about a corruption scandal with offshores, in which Moreno himself was implicated.

"Violate guarantees"

Recall that the WikiLeaks portal created by Assange has gained worldwide fame thanks to the publication of secret documents from different states.

The materials devoted to the military operations of the US Armed Forces abroad received the greatest resonance.

They proved the facts of war crimes committed by American troops.

So, in April 2010, WikiLeaks posted two videos of an air operation by the United States Army in Baghdad on July 12, 2007.

The footage captures the strikes of the US Air Force pilots on unarmed people.

More than 10 civilians were killed in the incident in the Iraqi capital, including two Reuters reporters Namir Nur-Eldin and Said Shmakh.

Four months after the appearance of the videos, the criminal prosecution of Assange began.

The Swedish police charged him with sexual harassment and rape.

Fearing persecution, the WikiLeaks founder moved to London in late November 2010.

However, the British authorities decided to extradite the whistleblower to Sweden, and then he took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy.

Later, in November 2019, the Swedish prosecutor's office dropped the criminal case against Assange due to a "weak evidence base."   

In the United States, Assange is prosecuted under the espionage law.

In October, a representative of the American side, lawyer James Lewis, voiced guarantees at the trial that Washington was allegedly ready to give in the event of a positive decision on Assange's extradition.

The US authorities have promised to provide the accused with any medical assistance, pledged not to allow the founder of WikiLeaks to be confined in solitary confinement and in the ADX Florence maximum security prison (Colorado).

In addition, the United States promised Assange the opportunity to serve his sentence in Australia, where he is from.

The whistleblower defense, however, doubts that the United States will actually honor the guarantees provided.

Another lawyer of Assange, Aitor Martinez, told RT en Español that "the American guarantee system has been completely discredited."

• Juliana Assange

• Reuters

• © Peter Nicholls / File

“The defense has already argued that the United States is systematically violating its guarantees.

We have cited many similar incidents as examples.

In particular, I presented to the court examples when I transferred cases from the Spanish jurisdiction to the American one - while the United States repeatedly and systematically violated its obligations, ”Martinez explained.

Vladimir Shtol believes that there is no point in relying on Washington's guarantees.

According to him, "the logic of decision-making in the US courts today is very unpredictable."

Vladimir Kornilov is also convinced that it is unwise to trust the guarantees of the United States.

According to the expert, the United States, in principle, cannot make any promises related to future court decisions.

“All these guarantees are not worth a damn.

In principle, I do not understand how they can be fixed, because in the end the fate of Assange (in case of extradition overseas) will be decided by a judge.

Now it is necessary to start from the fact that Assange is facing more than 100 years in prison, that is, life imprisonment, "Kornilov summed up.