[Act-ma_discuss] Julian Assange Can Now Seek Appeal Against US Extradition to Top UK Court

[Amy Hendrickson]

Julian Assange Can Now Seek Appeal 


Against US Extradition to Top UK Court


https://truthout.org/articles/julian-assange-can-now-seek-ap
peal-against-us-extradition-to-top-uk-court/?eType=EmailBlas
tContent
<https://truthout.org/articles/julian-assange-can-now-seek-a
ppeal-against-us-extradition-to-top-uk-court/?eType=EmailBla
stContent&eId=ba69cdc0-3c49-44d8-8d9e-6f2b452b9111>
&eId=ba69cdc0-3c49-44d8-8d9e-6f2b452b9111

On January 24, 2022, the British High Court of Justice
<https://twitter.com/jamesdoleman/status/1485568575578456068
> allowed WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange to ask the U.K.
Supreme Court to hear his appeal of the extradition order.
In December 2021, the High Court had overturned U.K.
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser’s January 2021 ruling
denying the U.S. request for extradition.

Following a three-week evidentiary hearing, Baraitser
concluded that if extradited to the United States for trial,
Assange was very likely to commit suicide because of his
mental state and the harsh conditions of confinement under
which he would be held.

During that hearing, the Biden administration didn’t provide
the judge with any assurances that Assange would not be held
in near-isolation in U.S. prisons. It was only after
Baraitser denied extradition that the U.S. government came
forward with “assurances” that Assange wouldn’t be subject
to special administrative measures (SAMs) or be held in the
ADX supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. But those
so-called assurances contained a loophole. They would be
null and void if Assange were to commit a “future act” that
“met the test” for the imposition of SAMs.

The late timing of the U.S. assurances precluded Assange’s
defense from arguing that they were unreliable.
Nevertheless, the High Court accepted the Biden
administration’s 11th-hour assurances and ruled that Assange
could be extradited to the United States.

Assange is facing 175 years in prison for charges under the
Espionage Act that stem from the 2010 WikiLeaks publication
of evidence of U.S. war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and
Guantánamo. The Obama administration considered charging
Assange for those revelations but declined to do so for fear
of running afoul of the First Amendment’s freedom of the
press. Donald Trump did indict Assange, however. But instead
of dismissing the case, Joe Biden is vigorously fighting to
extradite Assange and pursue the charges that Trump filed.


High Court Rules That Assange Raised a “Point of Law of
General Public Importance”


Assange asked the High Court to allow him to appeal the case
to the U.K. Supreme Court. Although the High Court denied
Assange’s application for permission to appeal directly to
the Supreme Court, the High Court certified that Assange had
raised a “point of law of general public importance;” that
is, the propriety of the timing of the U.S. assurances. This
means that it’s a proper issue for the Supreme Court to
review. The High Court wrote that although the matter of
assurances is at the heart of many extradition cases, the
Supreme Court has not resolved the issue. Therefore, Assange
can now petition the Supreme Court to hear his appeal.

“The High Court certified that we had raised a point of law
of general public importance and that the Supreme Court has
good grounds to hear this appeal,” Assange’s fiancée Stella
Moris
<https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/24/europe/wikileaks-julian-assa
nge-appeal-extradition-intl-gbr/index.html> said in a
statement outside the courthouse after the High Court’s
ruling. “The situation now is that the Supreme Court has to
decide whether it will hear the appeal, but make no mistake,
we won today in court.”

Assange has been held in London’s maximum security Belmarsh
Prison since 2019. While claiming victory from the High
Court ruling, Moris cautioned that Assange continues to
suffer in harsh confinement. “But let’s not forget that
every time we win, as long as this case isn’t dropped, as
long as Julian isn’t freed, Julian continues to suffer,”
<https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/01/24/british-court-
rules-assange-can-appeal-us-extradition> she said. “He is
suffering profoundly, day after day, week after week, year
after year. Julian has to be freed, and we hope that this
will soon end.”

If Assange is extradited, he will probably continue to
suffer in confinement. The High Court refused to certify the
two other appeal points Assange raised involving inhuman or
degrading treatment that could be imposed on him in U.S.
prisons, which would violate the European Convention on
Human Rights. Prolonged solitary confinement may amount to
torture under international law.

Although Amnesty International welcomed the High Court’s
decision to certify the issue of the timing of the U.S.
assurances, it
<https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/01/uk-high-cour
t-decision-welcome-in-assange-case-but-concerns-remain-over-
limitations-on-appeal/> stated in a press release, “we are
concerned the High Court has dodged its responsibility to
ensure that matters of public importance are fully examined
by the judiciary. The courts must ensure that people are not
at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. This was at the
heart of the two other issues the High Court has now
effectively vetoed.”


Activists Urge Assange’s Release, Praise His Contributions
to Global Peace


More than 26 peace and justice organizations and 2,500
activists signed a
<https://unac.notowar.net/peace-and-justice-organizations-ca
ll-for-freedom-for-julian-assange/> statement calling for
the immediate release of Assange and praising him for
contributing to global peace. Alice Walker, co-chair of
<https://assangedefense.org/> Assange Defense (on whose
advisory board I sit),
<https://popularresistance.org/thousands-sign-petition-suppo
rting-assange-release/> said,

He fought for justice by exposing how the United States
conducted horrific wars of conquest in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Millions died in these wars, mostly civilians. Assange
believed that knowledge of U.S. war crimes belonged to us,
the people, to decide for ourselves what should happen in
our name. And now it’s time for us to fight for him.

British Labour Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn
<https://thecorbynproject.com/news/news-julian-assange-wins-
right-to-appeal-extradition/> stated, “Journalism is not a
crime,” contrasting Assange’s confinement with the freedom
of the war criminals he exposed. “Wikileaks exposed crimes
of U.S. empire in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond. The
perpetrators of these crimes walk free, often still
prominent public figures in the U.S., U.K., and elsewhere,”
Corbyn added. “They should be held accountable for the lives
they destroyed and the futures they stole.”


The Appellate Process


If the U.K. Supreme Court refuses to consider Assange’s
appeal or they consider it and rule against him, Assange
could file a cross-appeal in the High Court. He could then
request that the High Court review the issues he lost in
Baraitser’s court.

Assange would argue to the High Court that his extradition
cannot proceed because it is for a political offense; he is
being prosecuted for ulterior political motives and not in
good faith; and extradition would constitute inhuman and
degrading treatment, and he would be denied the rights to a
fair trial and freedom of expression, which would violate
the European Convention on Human Rights. As a last resort,
he could appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

Meanwhile, Assange will file his appeal in the Supreme Court
within 14 days.

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://act-ma.org/pipermail/act-ma_discuss_act-ma.org/attachments/20220125/9cc63902/attachment-0001.html>