UN torture experts have told the British government that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is at risk of being subjected to torture or other forms of ill-treatment or punishment.・We are calling for the extradition of Mr. Assange to the United States to be halted.
Alice Gilles Edwards, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, said in a press release that Assange “suffers from long-term recurrent depression” and is “assessed as a suicidal risk.” Stated.
Hearings on Assange’s possible final appeal to challenge his extradition to the United States on charges of disclosing classified military documents will be held at London’s High Court on February 20 and 21. If there is a legal appeal, Assange could go on trial in Alexandria, Virginia, and be sentenced to up to 175 years in a maximum-security prison in the United States.
“If extradited, he could be held in isolation for an extended period of time while awaiting trial or as a prisoner. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison,” Edwards said. .
UK High Court sets final appeal date for Julian Assange over US extradition
A United Nations torture expert has urged the British government to allow WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to travel to the United States, citing concerns that he risks being subjected to treatment tantamount to torture. They are requesting that the extradition be halted. (AP)
Assange, 52, faces 17 charges under the Espionage Act for allegedly receiving, possessing and transmitting classified information to the public and one charge alleging conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. .
The charges stem from WikiLeaks’ 2010 release of leaked cables by U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning detailing war crimes committed by the U.S. government at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention camps, Iraq and Afghanistan. This was brought about by the Trump administration’s Justice Department. The document also exposes cases of CIA torture and coercion.
WikiLeaks’ “collateral murder” video, which showed U.S. forces shooting civilians in Iraq, including two Reuters journalists, was also released 14 years ago.
“Given the risks of prolonged solitary confinement and a potential disproportionate sentence despite his precarious mental health, the UK’s international human rights obligations require that Mr Assange be extradited to the US. “The question arises as to whether it is compatible with the United Nations Convention on Human Rights, in particular article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 3 of the United Nations Convention against Torture and the European Convention on Human Rights,” Edwards said. Ta.
“Diplomatic guarantees of humane treatment by the U.S. government are not sufficient guarantees to protect Mr. Assange from such risks,” Edwards said. “They are non-binding, limited in scope, and the individuals the warranty is intended to protect may not be able to sue in the event of a breach thereof.”
Australian journalist and publisher Assange has been held in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison since April 11, 2019, when he was expelled from the Ecuadorian embassy for breaching his bail conditions. He had applied for asylum at the embassy since 2012 to avoid being extradited to Sweden on charges of raping two women. Sweden has not provided any guarantees to protect him from extradition to the United States. The investigation into the sexual assault charges was ultimately closed.
Last month, a group of Australian parliamentarians wrote to British Home Secretary James Cleverley calling for a halt to Assange’s extradition to the United States, citing concerns for his safety and well-being. The letter called on the UK government to independently assess Mr Assange’s risk of persecution.
Australian lawmaker pens letter asking UK government to halt extradition of Julian Assange to US due to health concerns
Alice Gilles Edwards, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, said Assange “suffers from long-term recurrent depression” and is “assessed as a suicidal risk.” (Getty Images)
A bipartisan delegation of Australian lawmakers also visited Washington DC last year, meeting with US officials, members of Congress and civil rights groups to demand that the charges against Assange be dropped.multiple bipartisan effort U.S. lawmakers who called for Assange’s release issued a similar statement last year.
Last year, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also repeatedly called on the United States to stop prosecuting Assange.
Until Assange, no publisher had been charged under the Espionage Act, but many press freedom groups argue that his prosecution sets a dangerous precedent aimed at criminalizing journalism. . U.S. prosecutors and Assange’s critics say WikiLeaks’ release of classified material endangers the lives of U.S. allies, but there is no evidence that anyone was put at risk by releasing the documents. There isn’t.
Editors and publishers of U.S. and European news organizations who helped publish excerpts from more than 250,000 documents obtained by Mr. Assange in the Cablegate leaks: The Guardian, The New York Times, Le Monde , Der Spiegel, El Pais — wrote an open letter In 2022, he called on the US to drop the charges against Assange.
The Obama administration dropped charges against Assange in 2013 over WikiLeaks’ release of confidential cables in 2010. This is because journalists at major news organizations who published the same material also needed to be prosecuted. In January 2017, former President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence for violating the Espionage Act to seven years, and Manning, who had been in prison since 2010, was released later that year.
but Ministry of Justice The Biden administration is continuing to prosecute Assange under the Espionage Act, which was moved under former President Donald Trump.
“I call on the UK Government to carefully consider the extradition order for Mr Assange, with a view to ensuring full compliance with the absolute and irrevocable ban. refoulement “We prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and we will take all necessary steps to protect Mr. Assange’s physical and mental health,” Edwards said.
The final appeal hearing challenging Assange’s extradition to the United States will be held at the High Court in London on February 20 and 21. (FOX News Digital/Landon Mion)
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Assange’s British lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, previously said she feared Assange “would not survive if extradited to the United States”.
under Trump administration, In 2021, Yahoo reported that the CIA was planning to kill Assange over the leak of the agency’s secret hacking tool known as Vault 7 to WikiLeaks. The agency said the breach was “the largest data loss in CIA history.”
The CIA was said to have followed orders from then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo to discuss the plot to assassinate Assange in London at the “highest levels” of the administration and to produce “sketches” and “options” for the killing. Yahoo reported that authorities were also planning to kidnap and extradite Assange and had made a political decision to prosecute him.
WikiLeaks also released internal communications between the Democratic National Committee and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016, revealing the DNC’s efforts to boost Clinton in that year’s Democratic primaries. .
