Julian Assange’s wife has vowed to use all legal means possible after British Home Secretary Priti Patel approved the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder to the United States to face criminal charges.
Assange is wanted by US authorities on 18 counts, including an espionage charge, in connection with WikiLeaks’ release of massive amounts of confidential US military documents and diplomatic telegrams that her officials say had endangered lives.
His supporters say he is an anti-establishment hero who has been victimized for exposing US atrocities in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and that his prosecution is a politically motivated attack on journalism and freedom of expression.
His wife Stella said Assange would appeal after the Home Office said his extradition had been approved, as British courts had ruled it would not be unjust or an abuse of process.
“We’re going to challenge this. We’re going to take every opportunity to appeal,” Stella Assange told reporters, calling the decision a “travesty.”
“I’m going to fight for Julian every hour. I’m awake until he’s free until justice is served.”
Originally, a British judge ruled that Assange, 50, should not be deported because his mental health meant he would risk committing suicide if convicted and held in a maximum security prison.
But this was overturned on appeal after the US issued a package of guarantees, including a promise that he could be transferred to Australia to serve any sentence.
The interior ministry said the courts had not ruled that extradition would be incompatible with his human rights, including his right to a fair trial and freedom of expression, and that he would be treated appropriately.
Australian-born Assange has been embroiled in a legal battle in the UK for over a decade and could continue for many months.
He has 14 days to appeal to the High Court of London, which must give its approval to a challenge, and he could eventually try to take his case to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the European Court of Human Rights. Bring.
“We’re not at the end of the road here,” said Stella Assange, calling Patel’s decision “a dark day for press freedom and British democracy.”
Nick Vamos, former head of rendition at Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service, said verdicts were regularly overturned by the High Court.
Assange could again claim it was politically motivated and use new evidence, such as his allegations that the CIA had plotted to kill him.
The CIA has declined to comment on his claims.
“I think he can get some traction,” Vamos told Reuters.
Assange and his supporters claim he will be punished for embarrassing those in power and face 175 years in prison if found guilty, although US attorneys have said it would be more likely to be four to six years.
“If Julian Assange were extradited to the US, he would be at great risk and send a chilling message to journalists worldwide,” said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general.
The Australian government said it would continue to tell the UK and US that the case “has been dragging on too long and needs to be closed”.
The legal saga began in late 2010 when Sweden requested Assange’s extradition from the UK over sexual offenses allegations.
When he lost that case in 2012, he fled to Ecuador’s embassy in London, where he stayed for seven years.
When he was finally dragged out in April 2019, he was jailed for violating UK bail conditions, although the Swedish case against him had been dropped.
He has been fighting extradition to the United States since June 2019 and is still in prison.
While staying at the Ecuadorian embassy, he fathered two children with his current wife, whom he married in March at the maximum-security Belmarsh prison in London in a ceremony attended by just four guests, two official witnesses, and two guards.