The decision will likely see months more of legal wrangling: Assange has the right to appeal Friday’s decision within 14 days, according to a Home Office statement announcing the order.
Jen Robinson, Assange’s legal counsel, told a Friday press conference that an appeal would be brought.
“This is not the end of the road, and we will use every appeal mechanism available to us to prevent this extradition,” she said.
In a Friday statement, Wikileaks asserted that Assange “committed no crime and is not a criminal,” adding that he is a “journalist and a publisher” who “is being punished for doing his job.”
“This is a dark day for Press freedom and British democracy. Anyone who cares about freedom of expression should be deeply ashamed,” Wikileaks added.
In Friday’s statement, the Home Office stressed that the UK courts have not found that Assange’s extradition would be incompatible with his human rights.
“The UK courts have not found that it would be oppressive, unjust or an abuse of process to extradite Mr Assange. Nor have they found that extradition would be incompatible with his human rights, including his right to a fair trial and to freedom of expression , and that whilst in the US he will be treated appropriately, including in relation to his health,” it said.
‘Chilling message to journalists’
Assange’s wife, Stella Moris, said at Friday’s press conference that the UK “should not be engaging in persecution on behalf of a foreign power that is out for revenge… that foreign power committed crimes which Julian put into the sunlight.”
Assange is currently in the high-security Belmarsh Prison in London, where he has been held since being dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London three years ago.
He is wanted in the US on 18 criminal charges after WikiLeaks published thousands of classified files and diplomatic cables in 2010. If convicted, Assange faces up to 175 years in prison.
His extradition has been the subject of numerous court dates since his arrest, which took place after Assange sought diplomatic refuge in the embassy for seven years. In January 2021, a magistrates’ court ruling found that Assange could not be extradited as it would be “oppressive,” for reason of his mental health.
But the High Court overturned that decision in December, saying Assange could be extradited on the basis of assurances given by the US government about his treatment there.
Rights groups have expressed concerns about the US’s indictment of Assange, saying it undermines freedom of the press.
Tim Dawson, executive member of the National Union of Journalists in the UK, who spoke alongside Assange’s wife on Friday, said that the alleged offenses for which the Wikileaks founder was being pursued were “the daily business of almost any investigative journalist.”
CNN’s Niamh Kennedy contributed to this report.
www.cnn.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism