Julian Assange's extradition to the US dangerously close, say observers

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is on the brink of being extradited to the United States, say observers of his legal challenge. Assange lost his latest legal appeal against extradition on Tuesday, prompting his lawyers to announce they will appeal again to the same court.

UK high court judge Justice Jonathan Swift rejected all eight grounds of Assange’s appeal against the US’s extradition order, which was signed by then UK home secretary Priti Patel in June 2020. The request violates the US-UK extradition treaty, which states that “extradition shall not be granted if the offence for which extradition is requested is a political offence”. Assange’s legal team has maintained that the US desire to try Assange is politically motivated.

Assange's wife, Stella Assange, announced that her husband would be making a “renewed application for appeal to the high court” next week. The matter would then be heard before two new judges in a public hearing. Assange's father, John Shipton, said that his son’s grounds for a further hearing were “clear, firm and just”.

Assange faces 18 charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of classified documents, largely the result of a leak by the former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison but released after President Barack Obama commuted her sentence in 2017.

Assange’s legal team has also said the US has consistently misrepresented the core facts of the case to the British courts. Swift’s rejection of the appeal grounds leaves only one final step in the UK courts: the defence has five working days to submit an appeal of 20 pages to a panel of two judges, who will convene a public hearing.

Assange has been held in Belmarsh prison for more than four years, during which time his health has deteriorated. After this final appeal, he could still fight the extradition at the European court of human rights, which last December confirmed that an application from Assange had been received. Observers are calling for President Biden to drop the charges, close the case against Assange, and allow for his release without further delay to protect journalism and press freedom.