Imprisoned Wikileaks’ founder Assange denied bail by London court

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was denied bail on Wednesday because a judge said there is a risk he may abscond while the United States tries to secure his extradition from Britain.

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Judge Vanessa Baraitser said Assange’s past conduct meant there were substantial grounds to believe that if released he would abscond again as the US Department of Justice appeals against her Monday ruling against his extradition.

“I am satisfied that there are substantial grounds for believing that if Mr Assange is released today he would fail to surrender to court to face the appeal proceedings,” Baraitser said.

“As far as Mr Assange is concerned this case has not yet been won... the outcome of this appeal is not yet known.”

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She was referring to the fact that Assange skipped bail and fled to the Ecuadorean embassy in London in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted at the time to answer questions on alleged sex crimes.

Assange remained holed up in the embassy for seven years. He was eventually dragged out after Ecuador revoked his asylum.

Assange has been held for more than a year and a half as he fights extradition to the United States.

Assange has been detained at London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison since April 2019, when he was arrested for skipping bail during a separate legal battle seven years earlier.

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser will presided over the bail hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, two days after she rejected an American request to send Assange to the US to face espionage charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of secret military documents a decade ago.

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The judge denied extradition on health grounds, saying the 49-year-old Australian is likely to kill himself if held under harsh US prison conditions.

The judge ruled “the mental condition of Mr. Assange is such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America.”

Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei stages a silent protest in support of Julian Assange outside of the Old Bailey court in central London on September 28, 2020. (AFP)

Lawyers for the US government say they will appeal the decision, and the US Department of Justice says it will continue to seek Assange’s extradition.

US prosecutors have indicted Assange on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks’ publication of thousands of leaked military and diplomatic documents. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.

US prosecutors say Assange unlawfully helped US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that were later published by WikiLeaks.

Lawyers for Assange argue that he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment protections of freedom of speech for publishing documents that exposed US military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The judge rejected that argument in her extradition ruling, saying Assange’s actions, if proven, would amount to offenses “that would not be protected by his right to freedom of speech.” She also said the US judicial system would give him a fair trial.

Assange’s legal troubles began in 2010, when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women. In 2012, Assange jumped bail and sought refuge inside the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he was beyond the reach of UK and Swedish authorities — but also effectively was a prisoner in the tiny diplomatic mission.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seen on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, Britain, on May 19, 2017.(Reuters)

The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually soured, and he was evicted from the embassy in April 2019. British police immediately arrested him for breaching bail in 2012.

Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed, but Assange has remained in prison throughout his extradition hearing.