The possibility of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange being extradited to the United States appeared imminent on Tuesday after US officials sent assurances to British authorities that he would not face the death penalty or be prosecuted over his citizenship. could claim First Amendment protection.
The assurances were the latest twist in a protracted legal battle to extradite Mr Assange, who has been accused by the United States of breaching the Espionage Act by publishing classified documents. They came after a remark by President Biden last week that the administration was considering a request from Australia, Mr Assange’s home country, to allow him to return there, prompting speculation that the US could re-examine the case.
But the filing of the pledges, requested by a British court last month as part of Mr Assange’s five-year fight against extradition to the United States, suggests that US authorities may continue to seek his removal.
Mr Assange, 52, headed WikiLeaks in 2010 when it published tens of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents leaked by Chelsea Manning, an army intelligence analyst. He has been held in a maximum-security British prison since the charges were filed in 2019. Before that he had sought refuge for years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The charges raised questions about First Amendment issues, and some saw them as a threat to press freedom.
Mr Assange’s extradition was put on hold by a court earlier this year, pending assurances he would be treated if sent to the United States, as judges sought pledges that he would not be penalized for his citizenship, which he could seek . protection under the First Amendment and that he would not face the death penalty.
In a letter to the British Foreign Office, the US Embassy in London said Mr Assange, who is Australian, “will not be prejudiced because of his nationality”, promising that, if extradited, he would be allowed to seek “the rights and protections provided under the First Amendment.” The Embassy also noted that the death penalty “will not be sought or imposed” in his case.
After Mr Biden’s comments, Stella Assange, Mr Assange’s wife, said she was optimistic but that his extradition case had reached a critical moment. But she said on Tuesday that new assurances sent to the court did little to allay fears about her husband’s treatment.
“The diplomatic note does nothing to ease our family’s extreme anxiety about his future — the grim prospect of him spending the rest of his life in solitary confinement in a US prison for publishing award-winning journalism,” she said in a statement. “The Biden administration must abandon this dangerous prosecution before it’s too late.”
In their ruling last month, British judges said there would be a hearing on May 20, once the assurances were submitted, to decide whether they were “satisfactory” and make a final decision on Mr Assange’s ability to appeal against of its publication.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke publicly about discussing Mr Assange’s case with Mr Biden and urged him to consider Mr Assange’s release. The US Department of Justice declined to comment on the latest assurances in Mr Assange’s case.
Charlie Savage contributed reporting from Washington.
