The case Assange

Translated by Angela Tagliafierro

Australian journalist, developer and activist, Julian Assange is known as the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the educational organization WikiLeaks.

After revealing some classified American documents about war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq via WikiLeaks, in 2010 he was indicted in the US on 18 counts of espionage.

To escape from the extradition, from June 2012 to April 2019 he sought refuge in the diplomatic headquarters of Ecuador. Later, he got arrested by the British Secret Services since the South American country had decided to withdraw his citizenship and to expel him.

Since April 11^th, 2019, Julian Assange has been locked up in the British high-security prison of Belmarsh, awaiting the outcome of the extradition request submitted by the US. He would risk up to 175 years in prison under the Espionage Act of 1917, a regulation enacted in wartime but never used, which aims to strike at the legitimate work of journalists and publicists.

After years of battles, the British High Court accepted the defence's request for an appeal against extradition, which will be heard on 20 May. Assange's lawyers argued that punishing him would violate his right to freedom of expression and the principle of freedom of the press, enshrined in both the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. If extradited, it would set a serious precedent of violating these rights, which are fundamental to ensuring pluralism in a society that can be called 'democratic'.

In the meantime, however, on 16 April, the US provided the guarantees requested by the UK High Court: the possibility of asserting the right to free speech enshrined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the impossibility of adding new charges that could carry the death penalty. Extradition would thus seem to be approaching.

‘His case is a disgrace to any democracy,’ said Stella, the Australian journalist's wife. 'He is a journalist, and he is being persecuted because he has exposed the true cost of war in human lives,' she added.

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