In a statement on its website, Amnesty International (AI) called on US President Joe Biden to have the charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange dropped, for which Washington is demanding his extradition from the UK.
The High Court in London will hold a preliminary hearing tomorrow (11.08.2021) on the appeal lodged by the US justice against the Decision of the British court to reject the transfer of Assange on the grounds that there is a risk of suicide.
“This attempt by the U.S. Government to have the court change its decision (…) citing new diplomatic assurances is a blatant game of legal sleight of hand,” Amnesty International’s Europe Director Nils Muižnieks said in a statement.
“This deceptive appeal should be dismissed by the court and President Biden should take the opportunity to drop these politically motivated charges that have put press freedom and free speech in the dock. Obama launched the investigation into Julian Assange. President Trump brought the charges against him. It’s time for President Biden to do the right thing and end this absurd prosecution that should never have started,” Muižnieks adds.
The British justice decided last January not to extradite Assange, who faces 18 counts of espionage and computer intrusion that can lead to up to 175 years in prison in the United States.
The revelations on the digital portal WikiLeaks exposed secrets about US actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, information about extrajudicial detentions at The Guantanamo Prison (on the island of Cuba) and diplomatic cables that uncovered human rights abuses around the world.
The Australian activist remains detained in belmarsh high-security prison (south-east London) as Judge Vanessa Baraister denied the request for parole while the US appeal is settled.
