Avast ye scurvy dogs! Them Australian politicos be scribblin' a missive, beggin' the UK to keep Julian Assange from the clutches of the Yankee land, fearin' for his health, savvy?
2024-01-16
Avast, ye scurvy politicians from down under be penning a missive to the noble U.K. Home Secretary, James Cleverly, beggin' him to drop anchor on the extraditin' of that mischievous WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, to the land of the Yankees. Aye, a merry tale indeed!
A group of Australian lawmakers has written a letter to the U.K. government, requesting an independent assessment of the safety and well-being of Julian Assange if he is extradited to the U.S. The letter, signed by Members of Parliament Andrew Wilkie, Bridget Archer, Josh Wilson, and Sen. David Shoebridge, cites a U.K. Supreme Court decision stating that courts must independently assess the risk of persecution before ordering someone's removal from the country. The letter argues that this decision is relevant to Assange's case, as the U.S.'s assurances regarding Assange's safety have not been tested or independently assessed.Assange is facing 17 charges in the U.S. for publishing classified military cables through WikiLeaks. If extradited, he could be sentenced to up to 175 years in an American maximum-security prison. Assange's brother, Gabriel Shipton, has stated that if he loses his legal appeal in the U.K., he could be extradited within 24 hours, which could ultimately lead to his death.
Assange's lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, has expressed concern for his well-being if extradited to the U.S. Assange has been held in London's Belmarsh Prison since 2019 for breaching bail conditions. The Australian lawmakers argue that Assange's health issues, exacerbated by his prolonged incarceration, are of great concern.
Both Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Leader of the Opposition have called for an end to Assange's prosecution. No publisher had been charged under the Espionage Act until Assange, leading press freedom groups to argue that his prosecution sets a dangerous precedent. The editors and publishers of major news outlets that worked with Assange on publishing the leaked documents have also called for the charges to be dropped.
The Trump administration initially indicted Assange under the Espionage Act, and the Biden administration has continued to pursue his prosecution. The letter to the U.K. Home Secretary urges an independent assessment of the risks to Assange's health and well-being if extradited to the U.S., as well as a review of the risks of prolonged detention in high-security U.S. facilities.
There have been allegations that the CIA had plans to kill or kidnap Assange over the publication of sensitive hacking tools. WikiLeaks also published internal communications in 2016 that revealed the Democratic National Committee's attempts to boost Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary.