The US judiciary must drop its allegations against the Australian and the British authorities immediately release him from custody, the human rights organization said on Tuesday. The appeal process for Assange’s extradition to the United States is due to begin in London on Wednesday.
The US judiciary wants to bring Assange to trial on allegations of espionage. He faces up to 175 years in prison in the United States. A judge in London had rejected the extradition request in January with regard to Assange’s compromised mental health and the expected prison conditions in the United States.
Amnesty cited reports suggesting that the US planned to kidnap or kill Assange while he was at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. “This makes the diplomatic assurances of the US authorities that Assange expects good treatment in the US, even less credible,” it said. Amnesty Secretary General Agnès Callamard said that no one had been held responsible for US war crimes in Afghanistan or Iraq. But anyone who exposed these crimes is threatened with life behind bars.
Assange is accused of stealing and publishing secret material from US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with whistleblower Chelsea Manning. He put US informants in danger. His supporters see him as an investigative journalist who brought war crimes to light.
The organization Reporters Without Borders also called on US President Joe Biden to stop the proceedings. The US wanted to stand up for human rights on the world stage again, said the organization’s London representative, Rebecca Vincent, in London. “But this will always remain a big thorn in the flesh. That has to stop.” (SDA)