WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's extradition trial to the US will take place in the High Court of England and Wales. As the journalist's wife Stella Assange previously announced, the court in London will probably announce its decision on Monday, TASS reported.
The judicial system will have to decide whether the guarantees provided by the US side on April 16 are sufficient. Previously, the US government had sent official assurances to the court that it “would not seek or carry out the death penalty”. Assange has been charged in the United States with crimes related to the biggest leak of classified information in American history. Based on all the charges against him, he faces up to 175 years in prison.
According to the wife of the WikiLeaks founder, the upcoming meeting could end in three ways. First, the court could decide to extradite Assange to the United States. The defense fears that such a court outcome could see the Australian smuggled out of a UK military airport by US authorities within hours. In the event of such a verdict, the journalist's lawyers will urgently try to block his extradition through the European Court of Human Rights.
Secondly, the British court may side with Assange, after which a new round of trials will begin in the United Kingdom, and the Australian will remain in London's Belmarsh prison. Third, the High Court of England and Wales may schedule further hearings in this case to discuss the very merits of the appeal against the extradition order, which was issued in June 2022 by the then Home Secretary Priti Patel and subsequently upheld by court a decision from June 2023. In this case, the journalist could even be released from prison, his wife said last week at a briefing for the foreign press in London.
Stella Assange said that it is not necessary for the court to pronounce its sentence on May 20 immediately after the hearing, but this option, according to her, is the most likely, since the judicial body has had enough time to familiarize itself with the guarantees, provided by the United States. At the same time, the Australian's lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, said she did not find the US assurances convincing. She noted that the US government has not provided clear assurances that Assange will be able to use the US Constitution's First Amendment right to free speech.
Stella Assange had earlier expressed hope that the journalist would be able to attend the court session on Monday, but the final decision would depend on his condition in the morning. The WikiLeaks founder's wife said there was a "real risk he would kill himself" because he was "under pressure" and "his mental health is a cause for concern".