Julian Assange: UK court to rule on WikiLeaks founder's bid to appeal against US extradition
Britain’s High Court is set to rule on Monday on whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can take his fight against US extradition to the UK Supreme Court.
The decision is the latest step in Assange’s long battle to avoid being sent to the United States to face espionage charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of classified documents more than a decade ago.
Just over a year ago, a district court judge in London rejected a US extradition request on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh US prison conditions.
US authorities later provided assurances that the WikiLeaks founder would not face the severely restrictive conditions that his lawyers said would put his physical and mental health at risk.
Last month the High Court overturned the lower court’s decision. High Court justices Ian Burnett and Timothy Holroyd said the American promises were enough to guarantee Assange would be treated humanely.
They said the US promises were “solemn undertakings, offered by one government to another, which will bind all officials and prosecutors who will deal with the relevant aspects of Mr Assange’s case now and in the future.”
Assange’s lawyers say those promises can’t be trusted, and have sought permission to appeal to Britain’s highest court. They argue that the US government’s pledge that Assange won’t be subjected to extreme conditions is meaningless because it is conditional and could be changed at the discretion of American authorities.
Nick Vamos, a partner at Peters & Peters solicitors in London and a former head of extradition at Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service, said it was unlikely that the appeal would be granted. Assange can only take the case to the Supreme Court if the High Court rules that
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