WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been granted the right to appeal against his extradition to the United States by a UK High Court following the extradition order signed by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel in 2022.
Prosecutors argue that Assange’s publication of classified documents through WikiLeaks, which exposed confidential information and alleged war crimes, endangered the lives of individuals whose identities were not concealed. They assert that he should stand trial in the US, as reported by the BBC.
Assange filed his appeal against the extradition in February 2024. The ruling by two senior judges permits him to challenge Washington’s assurances regarding his potential trial in the US, specifically focusing on his right to free speech.
The legal team of Assange, aged 52, expressed relief and reiterated their stance that the charges against him are politically motivated. This legal victory comes over a decade after WikiLeaks released sensitive military documents that disclosed alleged US war crimes in 2010 and 2011.
Currently incarcerated in Belmarsh Prison, Assange has several months to prepare for a full appeal in the UK. The Australian national has long maintained that his actions in 2010 were intended to publicize war crimes committed by the US.
The news of the court’s decision was met with jubilation among Assange’s supporters. His wife, Stella Assange, described the day as “decisive” in the ongoing legal struggle, vowing to “fight on until Julian is free,” regardless of the judges’ future rulings.
The US seeks Assange’s extradition for what the Department of Justice describes as “one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States.” This includes allegations that the US military was responsible for civilian casualties in unreported incidents during the war in Afghanistan.
Stella Assange remarked that the case represents “the revenge of that country against openness and accountability.”
