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Judge
to rule if Assange can walk free from embassy
The
Wikileaks founder sought asylum in Ecuador’s London embassy in 2012
to avoid being extradited to Sweden
5
February, 2018
A
British judge is set to rule today on whether or not Julian Assange’s
European arrest warrant should be dropped. Should his appeal succeed,
the Australian could walk free from the Ecuadorian embassy in London
for the first time in almost six years, the Crown Prosecution Service
has confirmed.
The
warrant was issued in 2012 after Assange allegedly breached bail
conditions by seeking asylum in the embassy. He fled there after
losing a series of court battles to avoid extradition to Sweden,
where he faced allegations of sexual assault against two women.
Charges which he denies.
The
46-year-old feared he would be extradited to the US if he was taken
to Sweden after his whistleblowing website published thousands of
classified US documents detailing the country’s diplomatic and
military activities in 2010. There are rumors that there is a sealed
indictment ordering his arrest.
But
in May 2017, Swedish prosecutors dropped their case against him as it
was impossible to serve him notice.
“In
order to proceed with the case, Julian Assange would have to be
formally notified of the criminal suspicions against him. We cannot
expect to receive assistance from Ecuador regarding this. Therefore
the investigation is discontinued,” said Sweden’s director of
public prosecutions, Marianne Ny.
As
a result, Assange’s lawyer Gareth Pierce argued last month that the
arrest warrant "lost its purpose" and should be quashed.
Convictions
for failing to surrender to bail carry a maximum sentence of one year
in prison.
But
even if Assange’s appeal is successful, he may choose to stay in
the embassy for other reasons.
The
UK has so far refused to grant him diplomatic status, which would
make a US extradition request more difficult to enforce.
In
April 2017, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said arresting Julian
Assange over Wikileak’s publishing activities was a "priority".
The
best possible news
Lauri
Love has won his extradition case in the UK.
I
will be ecstatic if Julian walks free tomorrow
Lauri
Love case: Hacking suspect wins extradition appeal
BBC,
5
February, 2018
Alleged
computer hacker Lauri Love has won his High Court appeal against his
extradition to the US.
Mr
Love, 33, from Stradishall, Suffolk, was first arrested in October
2013 on suspicion of hacking into FBI, US Central Bank and Nasa
systems.
Appeal
judges said extradition would
be "oppressive by reason of his physical and mental condition".
They
urged the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to prosecute Mr Love, who
has Aspergers syndrome, in England.
Lord
Chief Justice Lord Burnett and Mr Justice Ouseley said Mr Love, who
also has depression, "did not seek impunity for the acts alleged
against him, but contended that he should be tried and, if convicted,
sentenced in the United Kingdom".
Lauri Love attended the appeal hearing with his girlfriend Sylvia Mann
They said: "We accept that the evidence shows that the fact of extradition would bring on severe depression, and that Mr Love would probably be determined to commit suicide, here or in America."
Mr
Love is alleged to have stolen huge amounts of data from US agencies,
including the Federal Reserve, the US army, the defence department,
Nasa and the FBI in a spate of online attacks in 2012 and 2013.
However,
his supporters had warned if he was extradited there was a "high
risk" he would kill himself.
The
judges urged the Crown Prosecution Service to work with US
authorities because of "the gravity of the allegations in this
case, and the harm done to the victims".
They
added that "if proven, these are serious offences indeed".
The
United States authorities now have 14 days to lodge a request for an
appeal hearing at the UK Supreme Court.
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