Julian Assange, founder of the whistle-blowing site WikiLeaks, has escaped extradition to the US – for now.
A UK judge today ruled that extraditing him to the US would be “oppressive”, citing his mental health and risk of suicide.
The US is appealing the ruling, and Assange will remain in custody in the interim.
If he were to be extradited, Assange would face 17 charges of espionage and computer hacking, with a combined sentence of up to 175 years in a high-security jail.
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser found that Assange is likely to kill himself if forced to endure US prison conditions, and that he has the “intellect and determination” to circumvent suicide-prevention measures.
Assange, the Australian founder of WikiLeaks, fell foul of US law over the publication of leaked military and diplomatic documents in 2010. His prosecution has been widely condemned by journalists and human rights groups as undermining freedom of speech.
Having been arrested by Sweden on sexual assault charges – which were dropped in November 2019 – Assange avoided extradition to the US by taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. He was evicted from the Embassy in 2019 and arrested by UK police on the charge of having jumped bail.
In the extradition hearings, Assange’s lawyers argued that he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment protections of freedom of speech, and that he risks disproportionate sentence in inhumane conditions.