Assange’s Temporary Victory: Extradition Appeal Win Against U.S.
Julian Assange, Australian author, editor and the founder of the infamous media organisation WikiLeaks had been a topic of many discussions and arguments. WikiLeaks published various articles, media leaks, classified documents and anonymous sources for people to access since 2006 with its creation. WikiLeaks provided unprecedented amounts of information to its readers and published original documents that might be considered highly classified which eventually those documents became inaccessible by their nature. However, since 2023, Assange has claimed that WikiLeaks cannot publish anymore because of his detention and the impact that WikiLeaks’ financial constraints and the United States (U.S.) government monitoring were having on possible whistleblowers.[1]
Furthermore, Assange’s publications of classified documents on WikiLeaks caused him to be prosecuted especially the leaks on Afghan and Iraq War logs. Moreover, WikiLeaks published video of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter strike in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad in April 2010 that claimed the lives of twelve people, including two Reuters journalists. As a result, the platform became more well-known. In 2010, it also made public about 400,000 classified U.S. papers on the Iraq War and over 90,000 classified US military documents on the Afghanistan War. The revelations were the biggest security lapses in US military history of that sort. Additionally, 250,000 classified diplomatic cables from US embassies abroad were made public by WikiLeaks; part of the material was covered by publications such The New York Times and The Guardian in the United Kingdom (UK). Outraged by the leaks, U.S. military authorities and legislators said that the unlawful release of material endangered lives.[2]
In light of these events, Julian Assange was charged with espionage and hacking of various U.S. military databases. It is stated that Julian Assange is an agent and should be prosecuted based on that, however, the supporters of Assange says that these kind of claims clashes with the freedom of speech and basic liberties. Fundamentally, supporters of Assange believe what U.S. is doing is a degradation and a direct assault on freedom of express in general. Later on, Assange also had several allegations such as rape which were related to two Swedish Wikileaks volunteers, but Assange denied these claims and stated that these claims were to extradite him to Sweden to be later handed over to the U.S. to face charges against him. After that he was to be extradited to Sweden by UK, however, he sought political asylum in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.
U.S. based on the recent events and leaks want Julian Assange to be put on trial and to be handed over by applying to UK courts to extradite him to them. Recently, two senior judges ruled that he had a good chance of successfully challenging his extradition on several grounds. Assange could be charged with a capital offence like treason at a later date, the court stated in its written decision, making it illegal to extradite him. The court further stated that Assange might not be able to rely on his First Amendment right to free speech as a non-U.S. citizen. The judges also declared that Assange had brought up a statement made by the late U.S. President Donald Trump in 2010 in reference to WikiLeaks, stating, “I think there should be like a death penalty or something.”[3] Which might later on means that he might be put on death penalty. Resulting Assange’s extradition to be delayed until the further hearing of the trial which gives Assange and his campaign some time to strategies.
Besides that, handing over Assange might mean an assault on freedom of speech that might draw further negative reaction from the public itself. Nevertheless, some also states that what he leaked on WikiLeaks which is a highly classified material might have had danger lives and the interest of the U.S. which would guilty. Clashes of opinions only deepens and grows as the trial continues. In addition, court’s decision to halt Assange’s extradition were not entirely unanimous. Hailed as a triumph for human rights, liberties and press freedom, supporters of him contended that extraditing Assange to the U.S. government would create a great risk for the prosecution of journalists/investigators throughout the globe. They voiced worries about how it may degrade the public’s right to know and investigative journalism in general. However, many who disagreed with the ruling which is including the U.S. government was based on a challenge which arguing that Assange had to be held accountable for his deeds. They stated that to protect and exercise the rule of law is the utmost importance to avoid such events in the future.
In conclusion, the whole trial on Julian Assange has a direct impact on the liberties and basic human rights which engulf on the freedom of speech. His extradition to the U.S. might even endanger his life. Fundamentally, this heated discussion over the nature of journalism, the boundaries of government secrecy, their operations, the truth and the rights of whistleblowers or journalists in democracies has been the foundations by this case. On the other hand, the U.S. government wants Assange to answer for his “crimes” regarding espionage and the leaking these highly classified material based on the national security. Overall, the case’s future results will most certainly affect all the globe on different levels while already having various consequences for freedom of speech and truth on governments’ actions through secrecy.
By The World Forum on Peace and Security
[1] https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/julian-assange-wikileaks-belmarsh-prison/
[2] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/20/who-is-julian-assange-will-he-be-extradited-to-the-us
[3] https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/julian-assange-hear-result-crucial-ruling-us-extradition-2024-03-26/#:~:text=LONDON%2C%20March%2026%20(Reuters),not%20face%20the%20death%20penalty.
