On the second day of the appeal, which is due to begin at 10:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. CEST) at the High Court in London, Assange’s representatives want to explain why they still consider an extradition of the native Australian to be inadmissible. Assange has been held in a maximum security prison in London for more than two years.
The United States are challenging the decision made by a British court in January: a judge in London rejected the extradition request in January with regard to Assange’s compromised mental health and the expected prison conditions in the United States. The US judiciary wants to bring the 50-year-old Australian to trial on allegations of espionage. He faces up to 175 years in prison in the United States.
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. Human rights organizations are demanding his immediate release.
According to the US, the UK court drew incorrect conclusions about Assange’s health and suicide risk in its ruling in January. The US attorney questioned medical reports on Wednesday, saying: “Mr. Assange had every reason to exaggerate his symptoms.” In addition, the possible detention conditions in the USA played a role in the British decision. This is to be contested, however, since the United States has meanwhile promised not to use any “special methods” and, if necessary, to agree to the transfer of Assange to a prison in his Australian homeland.
The Assange case
An overview of the most important events around Julian Assange’s time in the embassy in Ecuador.
2010:
- From July to October, the platform Wikileaks publishes around 470,000 classified documents that are related to US diplomatic activities and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Another 250,000 documents will be added later.
- In November the Swedish public prosecutor issued an international arrest warrant against Assange. He is accused of rape and sexual violence against two women. Assange denies the allegation and shortly thereafter turns himself in to the police in London. Until a decision on an extradition request from Sweden is made, he will be released on bail.
2011
- In February, a British court granted the Swedish extradition request. Assange expresses concern: He fears that Sweden could extradite him to the USA, where he faces trial and possibly even the death penalty because of the leaked documents.
2012
- Julian Assange fled to the Ecuadorian embassy in London in June and successfully applied for political asylum. Ecuador unsuccessfully asks the British government for permission to fly Assange to Quito.
2016
- Swedish investigators fail with their request to question Assange in the London embassy. A UN working group comes to the conclusion that Assange is “arbitrarily detained” in the embassy building and that the UK and Sweden must compensate him for this. Both countries reject the non-binding decision.
- Before the US presidential election, Wikileaks publishes around 20,000 emails from the Democratic party apparatus. They come from the campaign team of the candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
2017
- Following the pardon of Chelsea Manning, a major Wikileaks source, the organization said Assange could face an investigation in the US if his rights were guaranteed. Meanwhile, the prosecutor in Sweden is suspending the investigation against Assange.
- The British police want to keep arresting him for violating his bail conditions. Assange receives Ecuadorian citizenship, but the government in Quito fails with its request to apply for diplomatic status for Assange with the British authorities. That would have enabled him to leave the embassy building without being arrested.
2018
- Ecuador says it is looking for a mediator to end Assange’s “untenable” situation. An application to withdraw the arrest warrant for health reasons fails. In March, the embassy staff cut Assange’s communications access because he interfered in the affairs of other countries. A Wikileaks attorney describes Assange’s living conditions as “inhuman”.
- In October, Ecuador imposed new rules of conduct on Assange and warned that violating the guidelines could lead to withdrawal of asylum. Meanwhile, a document emerges in the United States that Assange has apparently been secretly charged.
2019
- Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno said that Assange had “repeatedly violated” the conditions for his embassy asylum. An independent human rights expert is due to visit Assange on April 25 and assess whether the alleged violations warrant an investigation.
- But it does not come to that: On April 11, the British police arrested Assange after his asylum was withdrawn.
An overview of the most important events around Julian Assange’s time in the embassy in Ecuador.
2010:
- From July to October, the platform Wikileaks publishes around 470,000 classified documents that are related to US diplomatic activities and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Another 250,000 documents will be added later.
- In November, the Swedish public prosecutor issued an international arrest warrant against Assange. He is accused of rape and sexual violence against two women. Assange denies the allegation and shortly thereafter turns himself in to the police in London. Until a decision on an extradition request from Sweden has been made, he will be released on bail.
2011
- In February, a British court granted the Swedish extradition request. Assange expresses concern: He fears that Sweden could extradite him to the USA, where he faces trial and possibly even the death penalty because of the leaked documents.
2012
- Julian Assange flees to the Ecuadorian embassy in London in June and successfully applies for political asylum. Ecuador unsuccessfully asks the British government for permission to fly Assange to Quito.
2016
- Swedish investigators fail with their request to question Assange at the London embassy. A UN working group comes to the conclusion that Assange is “arbitrarily detained” in the embassy building and that the UK and Sweden must compensate him for this. Both countries reject the non-binding decision.
- Before the US presidential election, Wikileaks publishes around 20,000 emails from the Democratic party apparatus. They come from the campaign team of the candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
2017
- Following the pardon of Chelsea Manning, a major Wikileaks source, the organization said Assange could face an investigation in the US if his rights were guaranteed. Meanwhile, the prosecutor in Sweden is closing the investigation against Assange.
- The British police want to keep arresting him for violating his bail conditions. Assange receives Ecuadorian citizenship, but the government in Quito fails with its request to apply for diplomatic status for Assange with the British authorities. That would have enabled him to leave the embassy building without being arrested.
2018
- Ecuador says it is looking for a mediator to end Assange’s “untenable” situation. An application to withdraw the arrest warrant for health reasons fails. In March, the embassy staff cut Assange’s communications access because he interfered in the affairs of other countries. A Wikileaks attorney describes Assange’s living conditions as “inhuman”.
- In October, Ecuador imposed new rules of conduct on Assange and warned that violating the guidelines could lead to withdrawal of asylum. Meanwhile, a document emerges in the United States that Assange has apparently been secretly charged.
2019
- Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno said that Assange had “repeatedly violated” the conditions for his embassy asylum. An independent human rights expert is due to visit Assange on April 25 and assess whether the alleged violations warrant an investigation.
- But it does not come to that: On April 11, the British police arrested Assange after his asylum was withdrawn.
Assange’s supporters hope for a U-turn in the process following new revelations. A few weeks ago, investigative journalists, citing unnamed US sources, reported that the US foreign intelligence service CIA had forged plans to attack Assange while he was still in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. “The question is: can Britain extradite someone to a country that wanted to kill him?” Asked Assange’s fiancée Stella Moris in a briefing earlier this week.