Wikileaks Founder, Julian Assange, on ground of health, cannot be extradited to the US for trial
OpenLife Nigeria has gathered that a United Kingdom Judge, Vanessa Baraitser, has ruled that United States of America’s request for the extradition of Australian born journalist to be tried in the US cannot be granted, at least, for now.
According to available information,
The British judge has not only rejected the US request to extradite WikiLeaks founder but also ruled that such a move would be “oppressive” by reason of his mental health.
The 49-year-old Australian has been charged in the US under the Espionage Act for his role in publishing classified military and diplomatic cables.
“I have decided that extradition would be oppressive and I order his discharge,” judge Vanessa Baraitser said in her ruling Monday.
Despite ruling that Assange would be afforded a “fair trial” in the event of extradition to the United States, the judge considered that the “special administrative measures” Assange would most likely be held in would have a severe negative impact on his mental health.
The Judge wrote: “I accept that oppression as a bar to extradition requires a high threshold … However, I am satisfied that, in these harsh conditions, Mr. Assange’s mental health would deteriorate causing him to commit suicide with the ‘single minded determination’ of his autism spectrum disorder.”
“I find that the mental condition of Mr. Assange is such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America,” she added.
Meanwhile, the US said it would appeal against the decision.
Julian Paul Assange is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006.
WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army intelligence analyst, Chelsea Manning.
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