Today, Tuesday, the Supreme Court in London will announce its decision regarding the possible extradition of the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, who is accused in the North American country of publishing thousands of secret documents to the United States.
Assange's wife and WikiLeaks announced on social media that the session to announce the result will begin at 10:30 am (London time). Judges can decide whether the case merits new legal examination or, conversely, close it, which would leave the European Court of Human Rights as the final alternative.
The UK government had already given the green light for the transfer in June 2022, but Assange, who spent nearly seven years taking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, tried to prevent it in every possible way. He is accused of violating the US Espionage Act and faces up to 175 years in prison.
At hearings in February, lawyers for the WikiLeaks founder questioned whether he could get a fair trial in the United States, and claimed that fundamental freedoms were at stake in the process, because Assange's actions fell within the purview of journalism and deserved special protection.
Likewise, they claimed that their client was accused of “political crimes” and therefore the US-UK extradition treaty did not apply to his case.
But for the American side, these are particularly serious events, and they stressed during the hearings the “profound consequences” of the leaks, especially for the sources identified in the documents published by WikiLeaks related to conflict situations.
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