Julian Assange will not be able to plead his case before the British Supreme Court. The latter has, in fact, refused to rule on the case of the founder of WikiLeaks, who is accused of espionage in the United States and whose extradition has been ordered on appeal.
The announcement of the Supreme Court’s decision was made by WikiLeaks, Monday, March 14. The judges justified this refusal by the fact that Mr. Assange’s request did not raise any particular legal issue.
Julian Assange is accused by the United States of having published secret documents of the American army and diplomacy in 2010, in collaboration with several major media, including The world. The United States considers that these facts were not part of journalism and endangered the identity of sources of the army and American diplomacy, an accusation denied by the lawyers of Julian Assange. The latter argue, on the contrary, that this is a political request, that the founder of WikiLeaks has done nothing but journalism and that the state of health of their client does not allow any way not an extradition.
Judicial marathon
Julian Assange first obtained, at first instance, that British justice refused his extradition. She had estimated, in January 2021, that his mental state was too fragile for him to be sent across the Atlantic. The United States had appealed this decision and won its case in December, the court of appeal having ruled that the guarantees provided in the meantime by the United States made null and void concerns about the health of the Australian. The latter then obtained the right to ask the Supreme Court to examine his case. She had, however, still to decide whether or not to consider his request.
The American extradition request will now have to be considered by British Home Secretary Priti Patel. His decision, presumably in favor of extradition, may also be challenged by Julian Assange’s lawyers in court. The latter are also working on appeals to the European Court of Human Rights. Julian Assange has been imprisoned for almost three years in a high security prison.
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