High Court denies Assange right to appeal putting him perilously close to extradition

Joe Lauria
Consortium News
Thu, 08 Jun 2023 00:00 UTC

© David Castor/Wikimedia Commons

The High Court at the Royal Courts of Justice

The High Court of England and Wales in a three-page decision rejected all eight grounds for appeal, opening Julian Assange up to extradition to the U.S.

A single judge on the High Court of England and Wales has rejected imprisoned WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange's nearly year-old request to appeal the British decision to extradite him to the United States to stand trial on espionage and computer intrusion charges.

Assange's legal team has one last recourse in the U.K. and has five days to request a hearing before the court.

Stella Assange, Assange's wife, issued this statement on Thursday:

"On Tuesday next week my husband Julian Assange will make a renewed application for appeal to the High Court. The matter will then proceed to a public hearing before two new judges at the High Court and we remain optimistic that we will prevail and that Julian will not be extradited to the United States where he faces charges that could result in him spending the rest of his life in a maximum security prison for publishing true information that revealed war crimes committed by the U.S. government."

The single judge on the court, Sir Jonathan Swift, issued the 3-page decision on Tuesday. It is not yet publicly available on the High Court's website.

In December, Assange appealed to the European Court of Human Rights. The court could issue an emergency injunction to stop Assange's extradition until it examines the case.

Assange initially won the case against extradition in the lower court based on his health and conditions of U.S. prisons. This was overturned by the High Court after the court accepted U.S. written assurances that Assange would not be mistreated in U.S. prisons.

An application from Assange to the U.K. Supreme Court to appeal that decision was not granted. In July last year Assange's team filed a cross appeal to the High Court on eight grounds including that the prosecution was political and that it violated the U.S.-U.K. extradition treaty barring extradition for political offenses.

It was this application for appeal that Swift rejected 11 months later. The reaction from press freedom groups was swift.

Rebecca Vincent, director of campaigns at Reporters Without Borders, said:

"It is absurd that a single judge can issue a three-page decision that could land Julian Assange in prison for the rest of his life and permanently impact the climate for journalism around the world."

About the Author:
Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former U.N. correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and numerous other newspapers, including The Montreal Gazette and The Star of Johannesburg. He was an investigative reporter for the Sunday Times of London, a financial reporter for Bloomberg News and began his professional work as a 19-year old stringer for The New York Times. He can be reached at [e-mail] and followed on Twitter @unjoe

Comment: This travesty shows no signs of relent:

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is deeply concerned by the UK High Court's decision rejecting WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange's appeal against his extradition order, bringing him dangerously close to being extradited to the United States, where he could face the rest of his life in prison for publishing leaked classified documents in 2010.

In a three-page written decision issued on 6 June, a single judge, Justice Swift, rejected all eight grounds of Assange's appeal against the extradition order signed by then-UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in June 2022. This leaves only one final step in the UK courts, as the defence has five working days to submit an appeal of only 20 pages to a panel of two judges, who will convene a public hearing. Further appeals will not be possible at the domestic level, but Assange could bring a case to the European Court of Human Rights.

"The historical weight of what happens next cannot be overstated; it is time to put a stop to this relentless targeting of Assange and act instead to protect journalism and press freedom. Our call on President Biden is now more urgent than ever: drop these charges, close the case against Assange, and allow for his release without further delay."
- Rebecca Vincent, RSF's Director of Campaigns

RSF is the only NGO to have monitored the entire extradition proceedings despite extensive barriers to observation. In April 2023, RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire and Director of Campaigns Rebecca Vincent were arbitrarily barred access to visit Assange in Belmarsh prison, where he has been held on remand for more than four years. RSF continues to seek access to the prison and to campaign globally for Assange's release.