UK approves extradition of Assange to United States

London, Jun 17 (Prensa Latina) The British government approved the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, where he could be sentenced to 175 years in prison for alleged violations of the espionage law.

June 17, 2022
08:44

The decision was announced by the office of the Minister of the Interior, Priti Patel.

The decision was made based on the arguments presented by the magistrates court and the high court, which allegedly did not find that the extradition of Assange is oppressive, unfair or an abuse of due process.

According to the office of the Minister of the Interior, Assange will have 14 days to appeal Patel’s order; there is also allegedly no evidence that extradition is incompatible with Assange’s human rights, including the right to a fair trial and freedom of expression.

Assange has been locked up in a British maximum security prison since Ecuador withdrew the political asylum granted to him in 2019, allowing the police to arrest him at its embassy.

The United States intends to try Assange for bringing to light war crimes committed by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan and thousands of secret files of US diplomacy.

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