The London court did not insist on the extradition of Julian Assange

UK Supreme Court didn’t insist on the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the United States. Judges again recognized he has the right to appeal against extradition and remain in Britain for the duration.

This decision extends the previous one made by the court at the end of March. Then the judges demanded evidence from the United States that, if extradited, Assange would not face the death penalty and that his right to freedom of speech and an impartial trial would not be violated. Today the judges confirmed that they had not received convincing evidence. Assange’s defense stated that the American court may be biased against the Wikileaks founder as a foreigner (Assange is an Australian citizen), and that he may not be entitled to the rights that the US Constitution guarantees to citizens of the country.

Julian Assange himself was not present in court, citing health problems. In addition to his lawyers, in court were his wife Stella and father John Shipton.

If Assange had been denied leave to appeal, he could have been extradited to the US within days.

• Assange, 52, faces 17 espionage charges and one count of computer misuse in connection with the publication of classified documents about US activities in Iraq and Afghanistan. US prosecutors allege that Assange helped former US soldier Chelsea Manning steal military files that were later published on the WikiLeaks website.
• If charged in the United States, Assange faces up to 175 years in prison. Avoiding extradition, the 52-year-old journalist spent seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London and the last five years in prison. Assange’s lawyers argue that his extradition would amount to punishment for his political views and would violate his right to freedom of speech. The Australian Parliament, of which Assange is a citizen, called for the journalist to be allowed to return to his homeland.