Watch live press conference as Assange extradition ruling postponed

Watch a live press conference in London after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was given the chance to continue fighting extradition.

The High Court ruled on Tuesday, March 26, that the United States must guarantee that Assange will not face the death penalty before a judge will consider rejecting his request for an extradition appeal.

He faces prosecution in the United States for allegedly conspiring to obtain and disclose defense information following the release of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In a ruling in January 2021, then District Judge Vanessa Baraitser said Mr Assange should not be sent to the United States, citing genuine and “unbearable” suicide risk, while ruling against him on all other issues.

Later that year, U.S. authorities won a High Court challenge to overturn the ban, paving the way for his extradition.

During a two-day hearing in February, the 52-year-old’s lawyers asked for permission to challenge the original judge’s decision to dismiss other parts of his case in an effort to block extradition.

In Tuesday’s judgment, Lady Victoria Sharp and Judge Johnson rejected most of Assange’s legal arguments but said he would be able to appeal on three grounds unless the United States provided guarantees.

Those assurances were that Mr Assange would be protected by and allowed to rely on the First Amendment – which protects free speech in the United States – that he would not be “prejudiced at trial” because of his nationality, and that he would not be “prejudiced at trial” because of his nationality. would be punishable by death.