Assange’s Extradition DENIED by British Court

JUDGE BLOCKS ASSANGE EXTRADITION, PENDING US APPEAL

Consortium News,

4 February, 2020

Magistrate Vanessa Baraitser on Monday rejected a U.S. extradition request on both indictments for WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.

Magistrate Vanessa Baraitser on Monday ordered Julian Assange discharged based on a severe risk of suicide. 

She said U.S. authorities did not convince her they could prevent him taking his life. Before reaching her conclusion Baraitser agreed with virtually every point in the U.S. favor until she came to the condition of his health and what extradition to the U.S. would mean. Baraitser brought Assange down a dark alley before her surprise decision at the end. 

The moment the judge said Assange would be “discharged” the courtroom camera swung to him sitting in the glassed-in dock. He showed no reaction. 

Baraitser was ready to immediately hear a bail application but Assange’s lawyers have asked until Wednesday to make it. She told the court that her decision whether to release Assange from remand in Belmarsh prison would also depend on the U.S. decision on an appeal, which the U.S. has said it would lodge. 

Craig Murray, the former British diplomat and friend of Assange, told jubilant supporters on the street outside Old Bailey that he expected “Julian to be walking among us” on Wednesday. 

Press freedom advocates were disappointed in the judgement, saying Baraitser established a precedent to ensnare journalists by accepting U.S. contentions that Assange was not engaging in journalistic activity but rather assisting his source, Chelsea Manning, crack into a government computer, as well as that he illegally possessed and published classified material. 

By affirming that journalists can be prosecuted under the U.S. Espionage Act, as well as the equivalent British Official Secrets Act, Baraitser handed down a perilous ruling for the future of journalism, the advocates argue.

However it may have been unrealistic to expect her to rule that the U.S. was criminalizing journalism. The outcome is probably the best Assange supporters could realistically have expected. Murray said it was time to be joyful of the ruling and that the issue of press freedom was for “tomorrow.”

As the judge agreed on every point with the U.S. indictments of Assange, there is little the United States can appeal other than to argue that Assange is not severely suicidal or that it can be managed, and that its prisons are not the well-established dungeons that they are. The U.S. may argue on appeal that Assange violated the Espionage and Official Secrets Acts but Baraitser’s ruling to deny extradition on mental health grounds would remain.

Baraitser in her ruling said the UC Global case of spying on Assange while he was in the Ecuador Embassy would have no bearing because the case has not yet reached a verdict in a Spanish court.

BREAKING: Assange’s Extradition DENIED by British Court – what does it mean for Kim Dotcom? 

the Daily Blog,

5 January, 2021

Incredible news overnight, Assange’s Extradition has been DENIED by the British Court!

This is the most important defence of journalism we’ve probably ever had, and it’s a surprising ruling because we had all assumed the interests in destroying Assange as punishment for exposing war crimes by the West was done and dusted.

Incredibly, Nicky Hager’s astounding witness evidence given in the show trail against Assange in September was ignored by most NZ media because most NZ Media rooms are now slavish cowards to the woke social media lynch mob, and the Woke’s denigration of Assange as a rapist means any coverage in NZ must be deplatformed and never spoken of lest the Wellington Twitterati cancels you.

However, with this now as global news, expect the NZ media cowards to all jump on board with their empty praise.

The decision to not extradite Assange was weighed up by the mental health impacts of such draconian demands by America, but this ruling to refuse extraditing him becomes a shining light for the rights of journalists and dramatically resets the power dynamics between the State and whistleblowers.

In terms of Kim Dotcom, the Supreme Court of NZ or the Immigration Minister need to ask themselves if Assange didn’t meet the threshold for extradition, then how the fuck does Kim Dotcom’s trumped up charges meet the extradition threshold???

The mental health damage to Dotcom and the total destruction of his business has been as extreme as Assange’s, why would we do what the UK won’t?

I wept genuine tears of joy this morning.

A great day for journalism.

When I saw this I had a surge of anger.

I can hardly convey how angry this makes me. Our DISGUSTING , lying, state propaganda media totally suppressed this news about our Nicky Hager.

This came from a Northern Irish newspaper.

These days I could not tell you who is worse - RNZ, Newshub or Stuff (in the case of the Herald I refuse to pay or register for my propaganda) is worse. They just echo each other. Journalism in this country is as DEAD as a dodo.

Yesterday we had two quite conventional (but thinking) friends who said independently they could not abide listening to RNZ these days.

I have long stopped.

---via Facebook

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/extradition-hearing-witness-questions-media-portrayal-of-julian-assange-39541972.html