Julian Assange did not appear at key trial to decide his extradition to US: “He was not feeling well today”

Trial to decide on the last resort of Julian Assange This began in London on Tuesday against his extradition to the United States, in the absence of the founder WikiLeakswho according to his lawyer is ill.

“She was not feeling well today and is not present”His lawyer declared, Edward FitzgeraldAt the start of the hearing before the High Court of Justice in London.

Two hearings began in London’s High Court on Tuesday to decide whether Julian Assange can re-appeal his case in the United Kingdom or whether he should instead be extradited to the United States.

Amid great public and press anticipation, the judges Victoria Sharp and Adam Johnson They began the session, which will end on Wednesday, by hearing arguments from the 52-year-old Australian’s defense.

Despite the court’s authorization, Assange could not attend the hearing in person because he was not feeling well, his lawyer Ed Fitzgerald said.

The British Prosecutor’s Office will represent American Justice, which is seeking the WikiLeaks founder on 18 counts of espionage and computer hacking. For exposés on his website, which exposed US human rights violations in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011.

The session was interrupted soon after it started due to technical problems that prevented reporters from hearing what was happening in the room and were partially resolved.

Fitzgerald began his argument by listing reasons why his client should be able to appeal again, saying that if he is extradited to the United States, his rights to a fair trial and freedom of expression would be violated, among others.

“The allegation is politically motivated. Assange exposed serious criminality. “For carrying out normal journalistic practice, obtaining and publishing classified information, true and clear and information of important public interest is being prosecuted.”he argued.

At the request of the computer programmer’s defense, the two judges will review the decision made by the single judge on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 6, 2023, Jonathan SwiftT.

After hearing the parties, the Magistrate may immediately issue his judgment or may postpone it.

If he is ultimately allowed to appeal against aspects of his case that the defense failed to address in previous trials, a new trial will begin before the London Court of Appeal.

If, on the other hand, they agree with Swift to ban it, a delivery mechanism to the US will be activated, overseen by the British Home Office.

In the second case, his lawyers have already said they will request immediate precautionary measures from the European Court of Human Resources (ECHR) under Article 39 of its Rules, to prevent extradition, when they file an appeal before the European Court. .

(With information from AFP and EFE)