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The British justice formally authorized, this Wednesday, the surrender of the founder of WikiLeaks to the American authorities, and transmitted the file to the Secretary of State for the Interior, the ultimate decision-maker in the matter. But the legal journey is far from over.
The decision was certainly expected and unsurprising, but for Julian Assange and his supporters, it nevertheless marks a further step towards the dreaded extradition to the United States. And one more notch in a vice that has continued to tighten for four months. This Wednesday in London, the Westminster Magistrates Court formally authorized the surrender of the founder of WikiLeaks to the American authorities, and transmitted the file to the British Secretary of State for the Interior, Priti Patel, to whom it ultimately falls to accept, or reject, the request made by Washington. Consequence of the judgment on appeal pronounced in December by the High Court of Justice, which required the court of Westminster to do so: “Put simply, I am required to send your case to the Secretary of State for decision”Judge Paul Goldspring summed up during a short hearing – seven minutes – which Assange attended by video transmission.
The latter, since his spectacular arrest in the Ecuadorian embassy in April 2019, has been detained in the high security prison of Belmarsh, east of the British capital.
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