Julian Assange photographed in 2014. Source: David G. Silvers, Cancillería del Ecuador.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has submitted an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against his extradition to the United States.
Since the international release of WikiLeaks back in 2010, 51-year-old Assange has been in hiding from the US government for roughly twelve years.
Assange, who is currently incarcerated in Belmarsh prison in London, is facing extradition from the United Kingdom to the US where he is wanted on criminal charges by US authorities. These charges stem from WikiLeaks’ revelation of a series of secret, incriminating US military logs and footage, including the Baghdad airstrike Collateral Murder video, the Afghanistan war logs, the Iraq war logs, and Cablegate.
In June this year, the UK’s Home Secretary Priti Patel approved Assange’s extradition to the US. However, he has now submitted an appeal to the ECHR in a bid to avoid this extradition.
Stella Assange, his wife, stated that she had hoped his case would not need to be taken to the ECHR, and that it would be resolved in the UK. She said that it “would be a sad day and a major disappointment” if the case was taken to the ECHR.
Assange’s legal team has also opened a case against the UK government at the ECHR. This case could potentially see the extradition being blocked.
While the extradition case is decided, Assange remains in prison. However, he has a huge following of supporters across the world, and public protests for his freedom continue.
Assange’s supporters see him as a hero who has been wrongly vilified, and whose only crime was exposing the corruption and malpractice of the US government and military. They also believe that Assange’s prosecution is an unjust and politically driven attack on journalism and free speech.
