Supreme Court refuses Julian Assange extradition appeal

Diplomatic assurances

The US gave assurances in a diplomatic note on 5 February 2021 that Assange would not be subject to special administrative measures (SAMS) or held at the ADX facility – a maximum-security prison in Florence, Colorado, if extradition went ahead.

The assurances applied either pre-trial or after any conviction, unless Assange “committed any act in future” which rendered him liable to detention in those conditions.

The US also gave an undertaking that it would consent to an application by Assange to be transferred to Australia to serve his sentence, if convicted.

Assange would receive “appropriate clinical and psychological treatment as recommended by a qualified treating physician” in a US prison.

High Court judges gave Assange permission to appeal to the Supreme Court in January after three judges said the case raised a point of concern of general public importance.

Appeals likely

The WikiLeaks founder has the option to file a “cross appeal” on defence grounds rejected by judge Vanessa Baraitser during the original hearing in January 2021.

These could include arguments that the US-UK extradition treaty prohibits extradition for political offences, that extradition would breach Assange’s right to a fair trial, and that the case against him represents an abuse of process.  

An appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is also likely.

Espionage Act

The case represents the first time that the US Espionage Act 1917, originally enacted to prosecute spies during the First World War, has been used to bring charges against an individual for receiving and publishing classified information.

The allegations centre on hundreds of thousands of documents leaked to WikiLeaks by Manning in 2010 and 2011.

They included the rules of engagement for the Iraq War and the “collateral murder” video which showed US soldiers laughing as they fired at unarmed civilians in Iraq.

Assange has been charged in a US indictment with 17 counts under the Espionage Act for receiving and publishing classified government documents and one count under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

The charges could carry a maximum sentence of 175 years, though prosecutors have argued that any sentence is likely to be lower.

Political decision

Rebecca Vincent, director of operations and campaigns at Reporters Without Borders said the Assange case was overwhelmingly in the public interest and deserved review by the highest court in the UK.

“After two full years of extradition proceedings, once again Assange’s fate has become a political decision. We call on the Home Office to act in the interest of journalism and press freedom by refusing extradition and releasing Assange from prison without further delay,” she said.