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Julian Assange faces the danger of a “flagrant denial of justice” if tried within the US, his legal professionals have advised a permission to attraction listening to in London, which might consequence within the WikiLeaks founder being extradited inside days if unsuccessful.
Assange, who revealed 1000’s of labeled navy and diplomatic paperwork referring to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, could possibly be jailed for as much as 175 years – “a grossly disproportionate punishment” – if convicted within the US, the excessive court docket heard on Tuesday.
Edward Fitzgerald KC, representing Assange, additionally argued that his consumer could possibly be focused by US state companies for “extra-legal assault elimination” if he was extradited, significantly given “the true risk of a return of a [Donald] Trump administration”.
Assange’s legal professionals are looking for a full attraction listening to. If the 2 judges deny permission, all challenges within the UK courts can have been exhausted, leaving an intervention by the European court docket of human rights (ECHR) as Assange’s solely hope to keep away from extradition to the US.
Outdoors the court docket, scores of his supporters held placards and chanted, demanding his launch. The WikiLeaks founder was granted permission to attend the two-day listening to however Fitzgerald mentioned Assange was unwell.
Fitzgerald advised the court docket that if Assange was extradited there was “an actual danger that he’ll endure a flagrant denial of justice”. In written arguments, Fitzgerald mentioned: “This legally unprecedented prosecution seeks to criminalise the appliance of peculiar journalistic practices of acquiring and publishing true labeled info of the obvious and necessary public curiosity.”
He mentioned Assange and WikiLeaks “had been chargeable for the publicity of criminality on the a part of the US authorities on an unprecedented scale”, together with torture, rendition, extrajudicial killings and conflict crimes. One of the notorious disclosures was video footage of a helicopter assault by US forces that killed 11 individuals in Iraq, together with two Reuters journalists. Fitzgerald alleged the US prosecution was motivated by “state retaliation” and so was illegal.
Among the many grounds on which Assange is looking for permission to attraction is the declare that his extradition is in breach of the extradition treaty between the UK and the US, which prohibits doing so for political offences.
Assange faces 17 costs of espionage, which Fitzgerald mentioned was manifestly a political offence and politically motivated, in addition to certainly one of laptop misuse.
“The prohibition on extradition for political offences, mirrored in article 4 [of the extradition treaty], has venerable historic and juristic significance,” Fitzgerald advised the court docket. “It is likely one of the most basic protections recognised in worldwide and extradition regulation … Different western international locations and governments stand agency towards US extradition requests for ‘political offences’.”
Mark Summers KC, additionally for Assange, raised the problem of a “breathtaking” plan for rendition or homicide of the WikiLeaks founder whereas he was sheltering within the Ecuadorian embassy, which was reported by Yahoo Information. Fitzgerald cited these allegations when arguing there was an actual danger Assange “could possibly be focused by US state companies as a ‘hostile, non-state actor’ meriting the appliance of clandestine and extra-legal assault or elimination”.
Organisations backing Assange embrace Reporters With out Borders, PEN Worldwide, the Nationwide Union of Journalists, Amnesty Worldwide and Human Rights Watch.
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Outdoors the court docket, Assange’s spouse, Stella, advised the group: “Now we have two massive days forward, we don’t know what to anticipate, however you’re right here as a result of the world is watching. They only can not get away with this. Julian wants his freedom and all of us want the reality.”
She advised reporters her husband’s case was analogous to that of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition activist who died in jail on Friday. “Julian is a political prisoner and his life is in danger. What occurred to Navalny can occur to Julian,” she mentioned.
If Assange is refused permission to attraction, he should apply to the ECHR to order the UK to not extradite him whereas it considers his case. If the appliance is refused he could possibly be faraway from the nation by US marshals inside days.
The US can have the chance to make oral arguments on Wednesday however, in written arguments, it accused Assange’s legal professionals of getting “constantly and repeatedly misrepresented” the case.
James Lewis KC mentioned the WikiLeaks founder was not being prosecuted for “mere publication” however for “aiding and abetting” or “conspiring with” the whistleblower Chelsea Manning to unlawfully receive the paperwork in query, “undoubtedly committing severe legal offences in so doing after which disclosing the unredacted names of sources (thus placing these people at grave danger of hurt)”.
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