A two-day hearing will determine the future of the founder of WikiLeaks: potential outcomes and implications.
On February 20th and 21st, a conclusion to the trial that began in February 2020 regarding the case of the Australian journalist, hacker, and programmer Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, will take place at an English court.
During these two days, the High Court of Justice in Britain will convene to consider the appeal previously filed by Assange’s legal team in order to avoid extradition to the United States.
There are two possible outcomes: extradition to the United States or the possibility of a new trial of indefinite duration to reassess his situation.
If the British court chooses extradition, there will be no further recourse within the English jurisdiction. The only remaining option will be to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), where Assange’s legal team has already lodged an appeal awaiting the decision of the London Court.
However, the extradition process could proceed immediately without waiting for the opinion of the ECHR. In the event of extradition, Assange will have to face trial at the court in Alexandria, Virginia. This jurisdiction, besides being geographically close to the CIA headquarters, is historically recognized for its ties to the agency. It is noteworthy that in all previous cases heard in the Alexandria court regarding alleged crimes against the CIA, the decision has always been unanimous in favor of conviction.
For Assange, this would mean spending the rest of his life in solitary confinement in a maximum-security prison cell, with the risk of possible suicide.
On the contrary, a favorable decision to reopen the case would mean temporarily postponing the extradition request and returning the legal proceedings before a new district judge, who would be tasked with reassessing the January 2021 first-instance verdict.
Since 2019, Assange has been detained in the maximum-security Belmarsh prison in the United Kingdom.
In January 2021, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected the American extradition request through a first-instance verdict. Eleven months later, the High Court of London overturned the initial decision, accepting Assange’s transfer.
In June 2022, then-Home Secretary Priti Patel signed the extradition order issued a few months earlier by the Magistrates’ Court in London. Subsequently, Assange’s legal team appealed, presenting 16 grounds to invalidate the request.
If the appeal is rejected, Assange would face the prospect of 175 years in prison. The charges against him include 18 counts, including complicity in the Pentagon files breach and violation of espionage laws.
On X, it is possible to follow live the demonstrations in support of Assange outside the English court.
According to some on-chain analyses, over the years, the organization has received over 4,000 bitcoin in donations.
