UK: Assange's relatives want to continue the fight to prevent his extradition
Stella Assange, wife of the founder of WikiLeaks at a press conference in London on June 17, 2022. AP - Jonathan Brady
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1 min
The British Home Office on Friday signed the decree authorizing the extradition of Julian Assange.
The founder of WikiLeaks, imprisoned in the United Kingdom, is being prosecuted in the United States for espionage and faces 175 years in prison.
His entourage promises to continue to fight to prevent the handover to Washington.
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With our correspondent in London,
Émeline Vin
Married since March 23 to the founder of WikiLeaks, Stella Assange welcomed the signing of the decree with anger.
"
I'm angry and I'm fighting for our lives, together, for our rights,
" she said.
All of this is deeply unfair.
It is third parties who govern his life, who make life and death decisions based on politics, in fact!
His instinct is to keep fighting, mine too, and we will fight!
»
Julian Assange suffered a stroke in October and his wife fears that further detention could lead to suicide.
A fortiori
if he is incarcerated in an American high security prison.
“
If Julian Assange is tried in the United States, then any journalist who receives documents of the same kind as him will risk the same thing.
They will then ask themselves: this document, which shows that the government has committed illegal, immoral acts… Is it worth it for me to spend the rest of my life in prison?
I'm afraid many won't take the risk
,” said Tim Dawson of the National Union of Journalists, who said the repercussions go far beyond Assange.
The lawyers will appeal the extradition decree, which cannot take place before the end of the British procedure.
It could take 6 months to a year.
Julian Assange faces 175 years in prison in the United States
175 years in prison, this is what Julian Assange risks if he is finally convicted for all the proceedings against him.
It has not always been the case.
When Wikileaks leaked US military documents in 2010, the Obama administration responded by launching an espionage investigation.
Finally, she will be content with prosecution for computer hacking, punishable by 5 years in prison, recalls our correspondent in Washington,
Guillaume Naudin
.
The White House and its advisers believe that it will be difficult to go further without contravening the first amendment to the American Constitution, which almost absolutely guarantees freedom of expression and protects the work of the press.
A caution with which the Trump presidency does not bother.
In May 2019, the Department of Justice launched new prosecutions for 17 counts, under the Espionage Act of 1917. Each count carries a possible 10 years in prison, which explains the total of what Julian Assange risks.
Upon taking office, the Biden administration did nothing to change these accusations and this is still the case to this day, despite the protests of many non-governmental organizations accustomed to filing appeals in court.
Even if he were to be extradited, the legal saga of Julian Assange would undoubtedly be far from over.
►Also read: London confirms the extradition of Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, to the United States
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