UK ruling on extraditing Assange damages journalism

December 10, 2021

(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 1, 2019 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures from the window of a prison van as he is driven into Southwark Crown Court in London, before being sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching his bail conditions in 2012. – US authorities announced 17 new charges against Assange on May 23, 2019. (Photo by Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP)

HAVANA TIMES – The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed deep disappointment at a British court’s decision to uphold the United States Justice Department’s appeal to extradite Julian Assange, which allows the U.S. to continue pursuing the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder, according to news reports.

“On the same day the Nobel Peace Prize honors journalists, a UK court ruled that the United States can extradite Julian Assange, a move that seriously damages journalism,” said CPJ Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney. “The U.S. Justice Department’s dogged pursuit of the WikiLeaks founder has set a harmful legal precedent for prosecuting reporters simply for interacting with their sources. The Biden administration pledged at its Summit for Democracy this week to support journalism. It could start by removing the threat of prosecution under the Espionage Act now hanging over the heads of investigative journalists everywhere.”

If extradited and convicted in the United States, Assange faces up to 175 years in prison on 18 charges under both the Espionage Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, CPJ has documented.

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