A British court on Tuesday, March 26, said Julian Assange can't immediately be extradited to the United States on espionage charges, in a partial victory for the WikiLeaks founder. Two High Court judges said they would grant Assange a new appeal unless US authorities give further assurances about what will happen to him. The ruling means the legal saga, which has dragged on for more than a decade, will continue. The case has been adjourned until May 20.
Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson gave Washington three weeks to provide fresh assurances over concerns he will be prejudiced at trial because he is not an American citizen and that he could face the death penalty if convicted. "Before making a final decision on the application for leave to appeal, we will give the respondent an opportunity to give assurances," the pair wrote in their 66-page ruling. "If assurances are not given then we will grant leave to appeal without a further hearing. "If assurances are given then we will give the parties an opportunity to make further submissions before we make a final decision."
During a two-day hearing in the High Court in February, Assange's lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald, said American authorities were seeking to punish him for WikiLeaks' "exposure of criminality on the part of the US government on an unprecedented scale," including torture and killings.
Assange's supporters have argued he is a journalist protected by the First Amendment who exposed US military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan that was in the public interest. They have argued his prosecution is politically motivated and he can't get a fair trial in the US.
The US government said Assange's actions went beyond journalism by soliciting, stealing and indiscriminately publishing classified government documents that endangered innocent lives.
Assange, who has been held at a high-security London prison on remand since 2019, was not in court for the latest ruling, which was released online and not in a hearing. He was absent from court on both days in February and did not follow the proceedings via video due to illness, his lawyer said at the time.
If he eventually loses the appeal bid, the Wikileaks' founder will have exhausted all UK appeals and will be set to enter the extradition process.