Awaiting Julian Assange's Conditional Independent Decision

WikiLeaks founder Jullian Assange (Source: Wikipedia Commons)

JAKARTA - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange awaits his freedom after years of detention due to allegations of espionage and computer hacking by the United States government. This followed a victory in avoiding extradition from Britain to the United States (US).

Assange, who is currently being held at the high-security Belmarsh Prison in east London, will seek to be released on bail. If his request is granted, Assange could enjoy freedom for the first time in more than eight years.

Quoting Reuters on Wednesday January 6, 2021, a British judge rejected a request from US authorities to extradite Assange to the US. If extradited to the US, Assange will face 18 criminal charges for violating espionage laws and conspiring to hack government computers.

The allegations are related to the leakage of hundreds of thousands of secret US military and diplomatic records by WikiLeaks which US officials say endangered lives. Although Judge Vanessa Baraitser accepted US legal arguments in the case, she said Assange's mental health problems risked suicide if he was extradited.

But the US Justice Department is unlikely to give up. They said they would continue to seek his extradition and would appeal his verdict.

Assange's supporters hailed the Australian-born man as a hero for exposing what they describe as US abuse of power. But detractors consider him a dangerous figure who has undermined security and do not recognize him as a journalist.

WikiLeaks publishes hundreds of thousands of secret US diplomacies that reveal critical US assessments of world leaders, from Russian President Vladimir Putin to members of the Saudi Arabian royal family. Assange made international headlines in early 2010 when WikiLeaks published a classified US military video showing an Apache helicopter attack in 2007 that killed a dozen people in Baghdad.

Assange's journey

In June 2012, Assange, an Australian citizen, fled to the Ecuadorian embassy in London after losing an attempt to prevent extradition to Sweden. He is threatened with extradition to Sweden for questioning on suspicion of sexual crimes.

He remained at the embassy, living under confined conditions, until being dragged out in April 2019. Although the Swedish case against him was dropped by then, he was jailed for violating British bail terms and his supporters lost £ 93,500 bail.

Assange remains behind bars after completing his sentence pending the outcome of the US extradition case. Baraitser had previously refused his bail, saying he remained at risk of making a flight.

Assange's partner, Stella Moris, who gave birth to two children while hiding in the embassy, said they could not celebrate while Assange was still in prison. "We'll celebrate when he gets home," he said.

Meanwhile, Assange's attorney Edward Fitzgerald said the decision to reject Assange's extradition shed new light on the guarantee decision.