Civil society tells UK Home Secretary to refuse Assange extradition
The threatened extradition of WikiLeaks Publisher Julian Assange to the United States represents a critical threat to freedom of expression worldwide. Assange faces 18 charges in the United States, including 17 counts under the controversial Espionage Act, related to WikiLeaks' publications of 2010-11.
Blueprint has been monitoring court proceedings in the UK for the past three years. We have also campaigned for Assange to be granted a Presidential pardon in the United States.
Blueprint is not alone in our opposition to this extradition: in the three years since Julian Assange's arrest in 2019 a large number of international organisations, human rights ombudsmen and media organisations have spoken out about the threat it poses.
Earlier this week, a judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court passed the extradition papers on to British Home Secretary Priti Patel. It now falls to Patel to decide whether to allow the extradition to go ahead.
Blueprint for Free Speech is one of 19 civil society organisations to have co-signed a letter to Priti Patel, urging her to reject the extradition:
In the US, Mr Assange would face trial on 17 counts under the Espionage Act and one count under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which combined could see him imprisoned for up to 175 years. He is highly likely to be detained there in conditions of isolation or solitary confinement despite the US government’s assurances, which would severely exacerbate his risk of suicide.
Further, Mr Assange would be unable to adequately defend himself in the US courts, as the Espionage Act lacks a public interest defence. His prosecution would set a dangerous precedent that could be applied to any media outlet that published stories based on leaked information, or indeed any journalist, publisher or source anywhere in the world.
Julian Assange's defence team are likely to launch further legal challenges if Home Secretary Patel allows the extradition process to continue.