LONDON (AP) – A British judge on Monday rejected the United States’ request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges, saying he would likely commit suicide if held under harsh US prison conditions.
In a mixed verdict for Assange and his supporters, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser dismissed the defense’s arguments that the 49-year-old Australian is facing a politically motivated American prosecution that suppresses freedom of speech. But she said Assange’s precarious mental health would likely deteriorate even further under the conditions of “near total isolation” he would face in a US prison.
“I think Mr. Assange’s mental state is such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America,” the judge said.
She said Assange was “a depressed and sometimes desperate man” who had the “intellect and determination” to circumvent all suicide prevention measures by the US prison authorities.
The US government said it would appeal the decision. Assange’s lawyers said they would request his release from a London jail where he has been held for over 18 months during a bail hearing on Wednesday.
Assange, who sat quietly in the harbor of the Central Criminal Court in London before the verdict, wiped his forehead when the decision was announced. His partner Stella Moris, with whom he has two young sons, was crying.
Out of court, Moris said the verdict was “ the first step to justice, ” but it was not time to celebrate yet.
“I was hoping today would be when Julian would come home,” she said. “Today is not that day, but that day is coming soon.”
The ruling marks a dramatic moment in Assange’s years of legal battle in Britain – though probably not the final chapter.
It is unclear whether the new Biden administration will continue the prosecution initiated under President Donald Trump.
Assange’s US attorney Barry Pollack said the legal team was “extremely pleased” with the UK court’s decision.
“We hope that, after considering the UK court ruling, the United States will decide not to pursue the case any further,” he said.
Moris urged Trump to pardon Assange before leaving office later this month.
“Mr. President, tear down these prison walls,” she said. “Let our little boys have their daddy.”
US prosecutors have indicted Assange on 17 espionage charges and one computer abuse charge over the publication of leaked military and diplomatic documents on Wikileaks a decade ago. The indictment carries a maximum prison sentence of 175 years.
Assange’s attorneys claim he acted as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment protection of freedom of speech for publishing documents revealing US military misconduct in Iraq and Afghanistan.
US government lawyers denied that Assange was being prosecuted for publication alone, saying the case is “largely based on his unlawful involvement” in the theft of diplomatic cables and military files by US military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.
The UK judge sided with US lawyers on that point, saying Assange’s actions, if proven, “amount to violations in this jurisdiction that would not be protected by his right to freedom of expression”. She also said the US legal system would give him a fair trial.
The defense also argued at a three-week hearing in the fall that Assange risked “an extremely disproportionate sentence” and detention in “draconian and inhumane conditions” if he was sent to the United States.
The judge agreed that conditions in the US prison would be oppressive. She accepted evidence from expert witnesses that Assange had major depressive disorder and autism spectrum disorder.
“I accept that suppression as a barrier to extradition requires a high barrier. … However, I am convinced that under these harsh conditions Mr. Assange would deteriorate, causing him to commit suicide with the ‘determination’ of his autism spectrum disorder, ”the judge said in her ruling.
Assange’s prosecution has been condemned by journalists and human rights groups, who say it undermines freedom of expression around the world.
They welcomed the judge’s decision, even though it was not taken on the basis of freedom of expression.
“This is a tremendous relief to anyone who cares about journalists’ rights,” tweeted The Freedom of the Press Foundation.
Assange’s legal troubles began in 2010 when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, who wanted to question him on allegations of rape and sexual assault by two women. In 2012, Assange jumped bail and took refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy, where he was out of reach of the British and Swedish authorities – but in fact also a prisoner unable to leave the small diplomatic mission in London’s Knightsbridge area. .
The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually soured and he was expelled from the embassy in April 2019. British police immediately arrested him for breach of bail in 2012.
Sweden halted the investigation into sex crimes in November 2019 because so much time had passed, but Assange was in the maximum-security Belmarsh prison in London during his extradition hearing.