The UK government has signed the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, where they want him to stand trial for espionage, with the possibility of a sentence of up to 175 years in prison if he does WikiLeaks is found guilty of publishing around 700,000 classified US military and diplomatic documents, mainly on Iraq and Afghanistan, as of 2010.
WikiLeaks and Assange’s relatives said they would appeal the decision, lamenting a “black day for press freedom and British democracy.”
United Nations Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Aziz Haq said: “We hope that due process will be fully respected and that all international standards and human rights will be respected.” to deliver. So we let the courts have their way,” he said.
In April, the British judiciary issued a formal order to extradite the WikiLeaks founder to Washington after a multi-year legal battle, but it was up to Home Secretary Priti Patel to sign the decree, which has already happened.
According to an (anonymous) UK Home Office official, “UK courts have not concluded that Assange’s extradition was repressive, unfair or an abuse of procedure. Nor that the surrender to the United States judiciary was inconsistent with their rights, including guarantees of a fair trial, and with freedom of expression. He added that Washington promised to treat him well and take care of his health.
The WikiLeaks founder violated the terms of his probation in the UK and fled to the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over a later dropped rape case. He then hinted that these charges were part of a strategy to extradite him to the United States.
Organizations that defend press freedom, such as Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International, oppose extradition because they fear Assange will be held in solitary confinement.
“Any country that cares about freedom of expression should be ashamed to see that the Home Secretary has authorized the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States, the country that conspired to assassinate him,” Stella Assange said in a statement .
“Julian did nothing wrong. He has committed no crime, he is not a criminal. He is a journalist, an editor and he is being punished for doing his job,” said the lawyer, who married Assange in March while he was a refugee at the Ecuadorian embassy.