The U.K. demanded that Washington provide assurances concerning the pending prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. That was done this week, but it did not satisfy his supporters who consider him to be a whistleblower and freedom fighter.
Among their demands are that he not face the death penalty and be able to rely on First Amendment protections if he is extradited to the U.S. This did not satisfy Stella, his wife, who took to social media to blast the Biden administration for using “weasel words.”
It was just last week when the Democratic president indicated that he was “considering” ending the U.S. prosecution of Assange.
Assange Extradition update
Julian’s wife–@Stella_Assange–says assurances from Washington do "nothing to relieve our family's extreme distress about his future."@ClarkeMicah–"Where are the notable voices raised in defence of Assange?"@EuroConOfficial https://t.co/64yeyI5iCa
— Michael Curzon (@MichaelCurzon_) April 18, 2024
He currently remains under indictment for the explosive release of a trove of U.S. intelligence that by all accounts greatly damaged the country. Authorities believe that several human assets lost their lives after his irresponsible actions.
The reassurances offered by the U.S. did not soothe the fears of his supporters. According to the document, he “will have the ability to raise and seek to rely on” First Amendment protections.
Stella Assange called this statement and others a “non-assurance” that did not meet the requirements of the U.K. High Court. She said that the words are “a standard assurance in relation to the death penalty.”
Mrs. Assange added that “the diplomatic note does nothing to relieve our family’s extreme distress about [Julian’s] future — his grim expectation of spending the rest of his life in isolation in [a] U.S. prison for publishing award-winning journalism.”
Her husband faces 17 charges of espionage and another count of computer misuse from the release of the cache of classified materials 15 years ago.
Assange, now 52, assisted former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010 in stealing top secret files and communications. They were then released on the WikiLeaks site, causing a firestorm of controversy and endangering military operations across the globe.
U.S. officials argued in the British court in February that Assange strayed far beyond the bounds of respectable journalism. Instead of being a whistleblower, he endangered many lives subjected to repressive regimes and war zones.
The U.K. High Court in March ruled that Assange would be entitled to another appeal of his extradition. This lengthy process could only be circumvented if the Biden government offered guarantees concerning the death penalty and his legal defense.
