THE UK Supreme Court yesterday rejected WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s appeal of the decision to extradite him to the US, where the WikiLeaks co-founder faces espionage charges. It is now up to Tory Home Secretary Priti Patel to authorise the extradition.
The Supreme Court has not yet officially released its reasoning in the matter. The decision was announced by WikiLeaks and Assange’s partner Stella Moris on social media.
Assange filed a petition to appeal in December, arguing that US assurances not to hold him in solitary or subject him to psychological torture were unreliable – and citing Amnesty International to that effect. The British High Court granted his petition in January.
Assange is charged in the US with 17 counts of ‘conspiracy and espionage’ after he obtained and published thousands of classified documents exposing the war crimes of the US and the UK in their bombing, invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.
For exposing the war crimes of imperialism, Assange, if convicted in the US, faces up to 175 years in a high-security ‘Supermax’ prison.
Alison Mason, Julian Assange grass roots campaigner told the News Line yesterday: ‘Everyone is just so shocked. This is beyond belief. We all thought the Supreme Court would at least allow Julian to argue against the High Court’s appeal decision, which was to accept assurances from the United States that Julian would be safe in their jail.
‘We were incredulous that they accepted those assurances which were submitted after the Magistrates decision and after it had become public and revealed in the media that the CIA had an alleged plot to kill him.
‘We demand Julian Assange is freed. He is innocent and must be freed.
‘We are now all at risk of being treated like this by the state. The only way to stop this extradition now is take mass public action, mass protest and the NUJ and every media outlet must devote their coverage to this and take strike action.
‘They can extradite him any time now, all it awaits is the Tory Home Secretary Priti Patel’s signature.’
