US Pushes to Extradite WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange
in a London court
HAVANA TIMES – In London, US lawyers are presenting their arguments against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as the Biden administration continues the push to extradite Assange to the US, where he faces up to 175 years in prison under espionage charges for publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes. The US is appealing a ruling by a British Judge who blocked Assange’s extradition in January on account of his poor health and citing a possible suicide risk. The hearing comes just weeks after Yahoo News revealed the CIA had considered assassinating or kidnapping Assange.
If Mr MacD is suggesting that I said this Assange fella has been threatened with the death penalty, then he is incorrect.
And I certainly didn’t suggest he is a hero. Not to me he isn’t.
But he is an interesting character and he most definitely exposed some appalling facts that the USA (and other countries) would prefer to keep buried.
‘Shoot the messenger’ is an idiomatic expression. It means that rather than addressing or apologising for atrocities that have been exposed, the perpetrator goes after those who did the exposing.
If the U.K. courts extradite anyone to any of the few countries that practice the death penalty, especially those even fewer countries who practice it on the mentally ill, then they should get cast iron assurances that the subject of extradition should not subsequently be killed. In all extradition cases. The U.K. should never fail to uphold these standards. Unfortunately the USA has very persuasive methods to try to get these standards waived.
Assange has not been threatened with the death penalty, it would be a falsehood to suggest that he has. One recalls that his original problem, was that he moved to the UK from Sweden in an endeavor to avoid prosecution for sexual assault. Sweden sought his extradition, and the case went through the courts in the UK with repeated appeals to the level of the High Court. When that process was exhausted and his move to Sweden imminent, he took refuge in the Equador Embassy where he remained for some five years. Eventually even Equador grew weary of his presence and asked the British Police to remove him – which they duly did, with Assange kicking and screaming. Sweden had grown weary and ceased asking for his extradition. The UK courts have refused to extradite him to the US. If only he would return to Australia and relieve others of his presence. Meantime he provides an excuse for Rent-a-Crowd to demonstrate. He is certainly, no hero!
The USA has a shoot the messenger policy.
If the USA did not commit war crimes and break the Geneva Convention so often there would be nothing for whistle blowers to blow whistles about.
Meanwhile the wife of a U.S. diplomat flees the U.K. claiming diplomatic immunity after killing a 19 year old motorcyclist due to driving on the wrong side of the road. She had a previous conviction for dangerous driving in the USA.
She refuses to come back to stand trial for this. The U.S. refuses to extradite her.
The USA and the U.K. are allies. But even allies disagree over certain stuff.
The U.K. should never extradite anyone to anywhere which carries out the death penalty. And especially not to a country which carries out the death penalty on those with learning disabilities.