Britain Resumes Trial to Extradite Assange to U.S.
LONDON (AFP) -- Supporters of Julian Assange on Monday protested outside a London courtroom, calling for the WikiLeaks founder not to be extradited to the United States for leaking secrets about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Many brandished placards reading "Don’t Extradite Assange” and "Journalism is not a crime!”, as the 49-year-old Australian was brought to the Old Bailey for the resumed hearing.
Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood joined protesters and said the former hacker was "shining the light on all the corruption in the world”.
Earlier, Assange’s partner, Stella Moris, delivered an 80,000-strong petition opposing his extradition to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street office.
In an interview published in The Times newspaper on Saturday, Moris, 37, said: "For Julian, extradition will be a death sentence.”
She said she feared he would take his own life, and their two young sons, who were conceived during his asylum in Ecuador’s London embassy, would grow up without a father.
Assange appeared in the dock wearing a dark suit and maroon tie -- the first time he has been seen in public since the first part of the hearing in February.
He spoke to confirm his name and date of birth, and said he did consent to extradition.
The Old Bailey hearing -- due to last three to four weeks -- had been set to go ahead in April but was delayed by the coronavirus outbreak.
Assange faces 18 charges under the U.S. Espionage Act for the 2010 release of 500,000 secret files detailing aspects of U.S. military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Washington claims he helped intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to steal the documents before recklessly exposing confidential sources around the world.
If convicted, he could be jailed for up to 175 years.
Any ruling in favor of extradition is "almost certain” to be appealed by the losing side, according to John Rees, of the Don’t Extradite Assange Campaign.
Assange -- who has become a figurehead for press freedom and investigative journalism -- had a "very strong defense”, Rees added.
But he was concerned the case had become "highly politicized”.
A previous hearing was told that U.S. President Donald Trump promised a pardon if Assange denied Russia leaked emails from the campaign of his 2016 election opponent Hillary Clinton.
Many brandished placards reading "Don’t Extradite Assange” and "Journalism is not a crime!”, as the 49-year-old Australian was brought to the Old Bailey for the resumed hearing.
Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood joined protesters and said the former hacker was "shining the light on all the corruption in the world”.
Earlier, Assange’s partner, Stella Moris, delivered an 80,000-strong petition opposing his extradition to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street office.
In an interview published in The Times newspaper on Saturday, Moris, 37, said: "For Julian, extradition will be a death sentence.”
She said she feared he would take his own life, and their two young sons, who were conceived during his asylum in Ecuador’s London embassy, would grow up without a father.
Assange appeared in the dock wearing a dark suit and maroon tie -- the first time he has been seen in public since the first part of the hearing in February.
He spoke to confirm his name and date of birth, and said he did consent to extradition.
The Old Bailey hearing -- due to last three to four weeks -- had been set to go ahead in April but was delayed by the coronavirus outbreak.
Assange faces 18 charges under the U.S. Espionage Act for the 2010 release of 500,000 secret files detailing aspects of U.S. military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Washington claims he helped intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to steal the documents before recklessly exposing confidential sources around the world.
If convicted, he could be jailed for up to 175 years.
Any ruling in favor of extradition is "almost certain” to be appealed by the losing side, according to John Rees, of the Don’t Extradite Assange Campaign.
Assange -- who has become a figurehead for press freedom and investigative journalism -- had a "very strong defense”, Rees added.
But he was concerned the case had become "highly politicized”.
A previous hearing was told that U.S. President Donald Trump promised a pardon if Assange denied Russia leaked emails from the campaign of his 2016 election opponent Hillary Clinton.