London court rules WikiLeaks founder Assange can appeal against an extradition order to the U.S.

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<p>Protesters hold placards outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange PHOTO CREDIT: Kin Cheung ' src='https://biztimes.biz/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/664b26e76ca7b.image_.jpg'/>

Protesters hold placards outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

PHOTO CREDIT: Kin Cheung
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Posted By: The Associated Press May 20, 2024

LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against extradition to the United States on espionage charges, a London court ruled today — a decision that is likely to further drag out what has already been a long legal saga.

High Court judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson said Assange has grounds to challenge the United Kingdom’s government’s extradition order. Assange faces 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over his website’s publication of a trove of classified U.S. documents almost 15 years ago.

The Australian computer expert has spent the last five years in a British high-security prison after taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years.

Lawyers for Assange argued today that the U.S. provided “blatantly inadequate” assurances the WikiLeaks founder would have free press protections if extradited to America to face espionage charges.

Lawyer Edward Fitzgerald said prosecutors had failed to guarantee that Assange, who is an Australian citizen and claims protections as a journalist for publishing U.S. classified information, could rely on press protections of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“The real issue is whether an adequate assurance has been provided to remove the real risk identified by the court,” Fitzgerald said. “It is submitted that no adequate assurance has been made.”

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