• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
UK Judge Rejects Extraditing Assange To US, Citing Suicide Risk

UK Judge Rejects Extraditing Assange To US, Citing Suicide Risk

January 4, 2021
NYC’s Socialist Darling Said He Was Both ‘Asian’ And ‘African American’ On Ivy League Application

NYC’s Socialist Darling Said He Was Both ‘Asian’ And ‘African American’ On Ivy League Application

July 4, 2025
EXCLUSIVE: Civil Rights Group Urges HHS To Audit Hundreds Of Potentially Discriminatory Grants

EXCLUSIVE: Civil Rights Group Urges HHS To Audit Hundreds Of Potentially Discriminatory Grants

July 3, 2025
SHOSHANA BRYEN: The Landscape Has Changed

SHOSHANA BRYEN: The Landscape Has Changed

July 3, 2025
Alligator Alcatraz Bait: Fussy Florida Legislators Call Everglades Prison For Illegals ‘Totally Un-American’

Alligator Alcatraz Bait: Fussy Florida Legislators Call Everglades Prison For Illegals ‘Totally Un-American’

July 3, 2025
Trump Teases Big Announcement On Cleaning Up DC

Trump Teases Big Announcement On Cleaning Up DC

July 3, 2025
Trump Addresses One Of Two Republican Reps Who Voted Against BBB

Trump Addresses One Of Two Republican Reps Who Voted Against BBB

July 3, 2025
Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

July 3, 2025
SCOTUS Smacks Down Biden Judge’s Bid To Defy Order Allowing Deportations

SCOTUS Smacks Down Biden Judge’s Bid To Defy Order Allowing Deportations

July 3, 2025
Byron Donalds Breaks Down How Trump ‘Closed This Deal’ On His ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

Byron Donalds Breaks Down How Trump ‘Closed This Deal’ On His ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

July 3, 2025
Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Just Changed The Game On Immigration

Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Just Changed The Game On Immigration

July 3, 2025
Trump Admin Rushes To Find Homes For Animals Used For Experiments Under Biden

Trump Admin Rushes To Find Homes For Animals Used For Experiments Under Biden

July 3, 2025
SHERI FEW: It’s Time To Make Our Children Healthy Again, Starting With ADHD Reform

SHERI FEW: It’s Time To Make Our Children Healthy Again, Starting With ADHD Reform

July 3, 2025
  • Donald Trump
  • State of the Union
  • Elon Musk
  • Tariffs
  • Congress
  • Faith
  • Immigration
Friday, July 4, 2025
  • Login
IJR
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls
No Result
View All Result
IJR
No Result
View All Result
Home News

UK Judge Rejects Extraditing Assange To US, Citing Suicide Risk

by Reuters
January 4, 2021 at 7:23 am
in News
247 5
6
UK Judge Rejects Extraditing Assange To US, Citing Suicide Risk

FILE PHOTO: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange makes a speech from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy, in central London, Britain February 5, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A British judge ruled on Monday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should not be extradited to the United States to face criminal charges including breaking a spying law, saying his mental health problems meant he would be at risk of suicide.

U.S. authorities accuse Australian-born Assange, 49, of 18 counts relating to the release by WikiLeaks of vast troves of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables which they said had put lives in danger.

His lawyers had argued the entire prosecution was politically motivated, powered by U.S. President Donald Trump, and that Assange’s extradition would pose 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 approve his extradition as there was a real risk he would commit suicide.

Assange, she said, suffered from at times severe depression and had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and autism, albeit he was “a high functioning autistic case”.

Half a razor blade was found in his London prison cell in May 2019 and he had told medical staff about his suicidal thoughts.

“I find that Mr. Assange’s risk of committing suicide, if an extradition order were to be made, to be substantial,” Baraitser said in her ruling.

“Faced with conditions of near total isolation … I am satisfied that the procedures (outlined by U.S. authorities) will not prevent Mr. Assange from finding a way to commit suicide.”

Lawyers for the U.S. authorities are expected to appeal against the decision.

U.S. prosecutors and Western security officials regard Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, as a reckless and dangerous enemy of the state whose actions put at risk the lives of agents whose names were in the material.

The U.S. authorities say more than 100 people were put at risk by the disclosures and about 50 had received assistance, with some fleeing their home countries with their spouses and families to move to the United States or another safe country.

Supporters regard him as an anti-establishment hero who has been victimised because he exposed U.S. wrongdoing in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and say his prosecution is a politically motivated assault on journalism and free speech.

Baraitser rejected this, however, saying there was insufficient evidence that prosecutors had been pressured by Trump’s team and there was little evidence of hostility from the U.S. president towards him.

She said there was no evidence that he would not get a fair trial in the United States or that prosecutors were seeking to punish him, and said his actions had gone beyond investigative journalism.

(Reporting by Michael Holden, Editing by Catherine Evans)

Tags: Julian Assange
Share196Tweet123
Reuters

Reuters

Reuters is an international news organization.

Advertisements

Top Stories June 10th
Top Stories June 7th
Top Stories June 6th
Top Stories June 3rd
Top Stories May 30th
Top Stories May 29th
Top Stories May 24th
Top Stories May 23rd
Top Stories May 21st
Top Stories May 17th

Join Over 6M Subscribers

We’re organizing an online community to elevate trusted voices on all sides so that you can be fully informed.





IJR

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Trusted Voices On All Sides

  • About Us
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy
  • Subscribe to IJR

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Top Stories June 10th Top Stories June 7th Top Stories June 6th Top Stories June 3rd Top Stories May 30th Top Stories May 29th Top Stories May 24th Top Stories May 23rd Top Stories May 21st Top Stories May 17th