The British High Court has granted Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s request to be able to appeal his extradition to the United States.
Assange faces charges in the US under the Espionage Act for his publication of the Iraq and Afghan War Logs. If convicted he could face a maximum sentence of 175 years for the “crime” of publishing material that the US government did not want the population to know.
On Monday, the court ruled that Assange’s request to certify a point of law was legitimate.
“The point of law certified is: In what circumstances can an appellate court receive assurances from a requesting state which were not before the court of first instance in extradition proceedings,” court documents read.
Full text of Julian Assange’s winning application for leave to appeal to the UK Supreme court
Link: https://t.co/2VadPs2I0g
For further details see: https://t.co/BSn8ZV1tRG pic.twitter.com/iB3DaUgdC7— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 24, 2022
The case will now move to the UK’s Supreme Court — should they choose to hear it.
Julian won.
It is now for the Supreme Court to decide whether it will hear Julian’s appeal.
— Stella Moris #FreeAssangeNOW (@StellaMoris1) January 24, 2022
“What happened in court today was precisely what we wanted to happen … and that is that the Supreme Court has good grounds to hear this appeal,” Assange’s fiancée, Stella Moris told reporters outside the court.
“Make no mistake, we won today in court. But let’s not forget: every time we win, as long as this case isn’t dropped, as long as Julian isn’t freed, Julian continues to suffer,” Moris continued.
“If there were justice, the officials who plotted and conspired to murder Julian would be in the courtroom right now,” Moris added.
Julian Assange fiancee Stella Moris speaking outside court after todays victory: “Today we won – but Julian continues to suffer – Julian must be freed” @SkyNews #FreeAssangeNOW @stellamoris1 pic.twitter.com/mfUekaCZ6C
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 24, 2022
In a statement about the ruling, the Committee to Protect Journalists said “the prosecution of the WikiLeaks founder (Julian #Assange) in the United States would set a deeply harmful legal precedent that would allow the prosecution of reporters for news gathering activities and must be stopped.”
Committee to Protect Journalists: “The prosecution of the WikiLeaks founder (Julian #Assange) in the United States would set a deeply harmful legal precedent that would allow the prosecution of reporters for news gathering activities and must be stopped” https://t.co/CkLErXEmkc
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 24, 2022
The High Court had ruled in favor of the US government’s extradition effort in December.
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