"
I saw Julian last Saturday at Belmarsh prison
", near London, "
he looked very badly
", declared Stella Moris, the former lawyer of Julian Assange who became his companion, Tuesday October 26th . Last January, British justice refused the extradition of the founder of WikiLeaks to the United States on medical grounds. A decision challenged by Washington, which calls into question the reliability of psychiatrist Michael Kopelman. The latter would have "
concealed
" that Julian Assange would have become a father, while he had taken refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. From October 27, the British justice will have to rule on appeal on his extradition. The 50-year-old Australian faces 175 years in prison.
Stella Moris mobilizes against the possible extradition of Julian Assange to the United States.
TOM NICHOLSON / REUTERS
For the United States, this review, which is due to take place until October 28, is the last legal chance to obtain the extradition of Julian Assange.
Only the British Supreme Court can decide in the last instance.
Washington accuses the founder of WikiLeaks for the release, in April 2010, of more than 700,000 classified
US Army documents
on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which would have endangered the lives of its officials and collaborators .
Relayed by the world press, this information revealed the muscular practices of the army in these different theaters of operations.
As of November 2010, the US Department of Justice is investigating Julian Assange.
On November 18, 2010, it was the turn of the Swedish justice system to issue a warrant against him for suspected rape of minors, a case closed without further action.
Arrested by British police, he was released on bail but had to wear an electronic bracelet.
On June 14, 2012, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom rejected his last appeal not to be extradited to Sweden.
Fearing to be sent back to the United States, he took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he remained cloistered for seven years.
British police say Julian Assange violated his parole and will be arrested as soon as possible.
Read also Whistleblowers: how are they protected?
The whistleblower enjoys the unwavering support of then Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. His successor, Lenin Moreno, accused of corruption in WikiLeaks, declared in 2019 that "
Ecuador's patience with Mr. Assange's behavior has reached its limits
." His political refugee status is revoked, as is his Ecuadorian nationality. He was arrested on April 11, 2019 by British police, and his personal belongings were shipped by the Ecuadorian Embassy to the United States.
Taken to Belmarsh prison for violating his parole, he would be subjected to
Special Administrative Measures
(SAMs), that is to say to isolation 23 hours a day, in a cell the size of a parking space. On May 23, 2019, the court indicted him with 17 new charges under the
espionage act
, an exceptional case of use of this law dating from 1917.
"No responsible person, whether journalist or not, would deliberately publish the name of human sources in a war zone
,
" said
John Demers, the head of national security at the Ministry of Justice. “
For the first time in history, the government is initiating criminal proceedings against the publication of truthful information. It is a direct attack against the First Amendment and an unprecedented escalation of the Trump administration's attacks on journalism, ”
recalled the ACLU, the main American organization for the protection of freedom of expression. Reporters Without Borders had also denounced "
a direct threat to press freedom
".
Julian Assange's companion, Stella Moris, and several press freedom associations demonstrated this weekend to oppose his extradition.
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