- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Julian Assange to Appear in Court Facing US Extradition Hearing

© Ruptly . Ruptly / Go to the mediabankJ. Assange in Prison Belmarsh in London
J. Assange in Prison Belmarsh in London - Sputnik International
Subscribe
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday faces his first British court hearing since the US submitted a formal extradition request on espionage charges, which were later signed by the home secretary, Sajid Javid.

If the extradition request is fulfilled, the whistleblower could face eighteen counts of espionage charges from the US Department of Justice (US DoJ) in a Virginia district court over his 2010 leak of hundreds of thousands of classified documents on US military war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as human rights abuses in Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp in Cuba, bearing a prison term of up to 175 years.

In this file photo taken on May 01, 2019 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures from the window of a prison van as he is driven out of Southwark Crown Court in London, after having been sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching his bail conditions in 2012 - Sputnik International
World
Former Ecuadorian President Calls People Willing to Extradite Assange to US ‘Executioners’
The 47-year-old Australian was too ill to appear last month at a hearing at Westminster magistrates’ court in relation to the US request, according to the Guardian. The hearing has been rescheduled for Friday, and depending on Assange’s condition, may take place at Belmarsh prison where he is being held. Assange is now serving a 50-week sentence in Britain for skipping bail after he spent seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in order to flee what he said was a politically motivated case against him.

Swedish prosecutors dropped their rape investigation in 2017 but reopened it after Ecuador rescinded its offer of asylum to Assange in April this year and allowed British police to arrest him. Assange was carried out by British policemen after Ecuador had denied him asylum on the territory of its embassy.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrives at court in London on May 1, 2019 to be sentenced for bail violation - Sputnik International
What Could Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Face if Extradited to the US on 18 Counts of Espionage?
He was recently transferred to Belmarsh prison’s hospital wing after losing "dangerous amounts of weight behind bars,” with one source in the prison even claiming that "his state of mind is not great, either". His father, who had reportedly visited Assange on Wednesday, said his son has undergone "considerable change" since the two met last Christmas, including losing about 20 pounds, but remains "clearly optimistic" that he will not be extradited.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала