UK court blocks WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition to United States | World News - Hindustan Times
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UK court blocks WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition to United States

London | ByReuters | Posted by Kanishka Sarkar
Jan 04, 2021 05:20 PM IST

US authorities accuse Australian-born Assange, 49, of 18 counts relating to Wikileaks’ release of vast troves of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables which they said had put lives in danger.

A British judge ruled on Monday that WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange should not be extradited to the United States to face charges of breaking a spying law and conspiring to obtain secret US documents by hacking government computers.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange making a speech from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy, in central London, Britain on February 5, 2016.(Reuters File Photo)
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange making a speech from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy, in central London, Britain on February 5, 2016.(Reuters File Photo)

US authorities accuse Australian-born Assange, 49, of 18 counts relating to Wikileaks’ release of vast troves of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables which they said had put lives in danger.

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His lawyers had argued the entire prosecution was politically-motivated, powered by US President Donald Trump and that his extradition posed a severe threat to the work of journalists.

At a hearing at London’s Old Bailey, Judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected nearly all his legal team’s arguments but said she could not extradite him as there was a real risk he would commit suicide and ordered his discharge.

“Faced with conditions of near total isolation ... I am satisfied that the procedures (outline by US authorities) will not prevent Mr. Assange from finding a way to commit suicide,” she said.

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