Julian Assange wins temporary reprieve in case against extradition to US
Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent
Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent
THE GUARDIAN
Tue, 26 March 2024
Supporters of Assange outside the high court in London on Wednesday.Photograph: Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images
Julian Assange has been handed a reprieve in his fight against extradition to the US after two judges ruled the WikiLeaks founder could take his case to an appeal hearing – but only if the Biden administration is unable to provide the court with suitable assurances.
The president of the king’s bench division, Victoria Sharp, and Mr Justice Johnson said Assange had real prospects of success on three of the nine grounds argued, but adjourned the leave to appeal application to give the US government three weeks to provide reassurance on the relevant matters.
If Assange had been denied permission to appeal he could have been extradited within days to face espionage charges. While the judges’ decision means he avoids that fate it leaves him facing a further wait, with his future still unresolved.
In a written judgment, handed down on Tuesday morning, Sharp said the concerns that had real prospects of success at appeal but which “may be capable of being addressed by assurances” were “that the applicant [Assange] is permitted to rely on the first amendment, that the applicant is not prejudiced at trial, including sentence, by reason of his nationality, that he is afforded the same first amendment protections as a United States citizen, and that the death penalty is not imposed”.
At a two-day hearing last month, which Assange was too unwell to attend, his lawyers argued that he faced a “flagrant denial of justice” if extradited to the US to face charges relating to the publication by Assange and WikiLeaks of thousands of classified and diplomatic documents they said had exposed torture, rendition, extrajudicial killings and war crimes.
His wife, Stella Assange, expressed dismay at the judges’ decision. “What the courts have done has been to invite a political intervention from the United States … send a letter saying ‘its all OK’,” she said. “I find this astounding.
“This case is a retribution. It is a signal to all of you that if you expose the interests that are driving war they will come after you, they will put you in prison and will try to kill you.
“The Biden administration should not issue assurances. They should drop this shameful case that should never have been brought.”
Ahead of the decision there had been reports that the US government was considering a plea deal offer to Assange, allowing him to admit to a misdemeanour, which would enable him to walk free from prison in the UK but his lawyers said they had been “given no indication” Washington intended to change its approach.
Sharp stated in Tuesday’s 66-page judgment that the UK home secretary’s lawyer had accepted that there was nothing in place to prevent Assange being charged in the US with an offence that carried the death penalty and it then being imposed.
She cited as evidence of such a risk “the calls for the imposition of the death penalty by leading politicians and other public figures; the fact that the [UK-US extradition] treaty does not preclude extradition for death penalty charges, and the fact that the existing assurance does not explicitly cover the death penalty”.
On free speech protections under the first amendment in the US, Sharp said: “He [Assange] contends that if he is given first amendment rights, the prosecution will be stopped. The first amendment is therefore of central importance to his defence to the extradition charge. Further, if he is convicted, he may wish to invoke the first amendment on the question of sentence. If he is not permitted to rely on the first amendment because of his status as a foreign national, he will thereby be prejudiced – potentially very greatly prejudiced – by reason of his nationality.”
The US has been given until 16 April to file its assurances. If it does not do so, leave to appeal will be granted. If it does provide assurances by that date the parties will be invited to file further written submissions on the issue of leave to appeal with another hearing provisionally listed for 20 May.
Michelle Stanistreet, the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, welcomed the “temporary reprieve” but called on the US to pursue a plea deal.
“The conditionality around the grounds of appeal, which are contingent on the examination of US government assurances that he will not face the death penalty and has the right to free speech, mean the risks to Assange and press freedom remain stark,” she said.
Tue, 26 March 2024
Supporters of Assange outside the high court in London on Wednesday.Photograph: Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images
Julian Assange has been handed a reprieve in his fight against extradition to the US after two judges ruled the WikiLeaks founder could take his case to an appeal hearing – but only if the Biden administration is unable to provide the court with suitable assurances.
The president of the king’s bench division, Victoria Sharp, and Mr Justice Johnson said Assange had real prospects of success on three of the nine grounds argued, but adjourned the leave to appeal application to give the US government three weeks to provide reassurance on the relevant matters.
If Assange had been denied permission to appeal he could have been extradited within days to face espionage charges. While the judges’ decision means he avoids that fate it leaves him facing a further wait, with his future still unresolved.
In a written judgment, handed down on Tuesday morning, Sharp said the concerns that had real prospects of success at appeal but which “may be capable of being addressed by assurances” were “that the applicant [Assange] is permitted to rely on the first amendment, that the applicant is not prejudiced at trial, including sentence, by reason of his nationality, that he is afforded the same first amendment protections as a United States citizen, and that the death penalty is not imposed”.
At a two-day hearing last month, which Assange was too unwell to attend, his lawyers argued that he faced a “flagrant denial of justice” if extradited to the US to face charges relating to the publication by Assange and WikiLeaks of thousands of classified and diplomatic documents they said had exposed torture, rendition, extrajudicial killings and war crimes.
His wife, Stella Assange, expressed dismay at the judges’ decision. “What the courts have done has been to invite a political intervention from the United States … send a letter saying ‘its all OK’,” she said. “I find this astounding.
“This case is a retribution. It is a signal to all of you that if you expose the interests that are driving war they will come after you, they will put you in prison and will try to kill you.
“The Biden administration should not issue assurances. They should drop this shameful case that should never have been brought.”
Ahead of the decision there had been reports that the US government was considering a plea deal offer to Assange, allowing him to admit to a misdemeanour, which would enable him to walk free from prison in the UK but his lawyers said they had been “given no indication” Washington intended to change its approach.
Sharp stated in Tuesday’s 66-page judgment that the UK home secretary’s lawyer had accepted that there was nothing in place to prevent Assange being charged in the US with an offence that carried the death penalty and it then being imposed.
She cited as evidence of such a risk “the calls for the imposition of the death penalty by leading politicians and other public figures; the fact that the [UK-US extradition] treaty does not preclude extradition for death penalty charges, and the fact that the existing assurance does not explicitly cover the death penalty”.
On free speech protections under the first amendment in the US, Sharp said: “He [Assange] contends that if he is given first amendment rights, the prosecution will be stopped. The first amendment is therefore of central importance to his defence to the extradition charge. Further, if he is convicted, he may wish to invoke the first amendment on the question of sentence. If he is not permitted to rely on the first amendment because of his status as a foreign national, he will thereby be prejudiced – potentially very greatly prejudiced – by reason of his nationality.”
The US has been given until 16 April to file its assurances. If it does not do so, leave to appeal will be granted. If it does provide assurances by that date the parties will be invited to file further written submissions on the issue of leave to appeal with another hearing provisionally listed for 20 May.
Michelle Stanistreet, the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, welcomed the “temporary reprieve” but called on the US to pursue a plea deal.
“The conditionality around the grounds of appeal, which are contingent on the examination of US government assurances that he will not face the death penalty and has the right to free speech, mean the risks to Assange and press freedom remain stark,” she said.
SYLVIA HUI and JILL LAWLESS
Updated Tue, March 26, 2024
LONDON (AP) — A British court ruled Tuesday that Julian Assange can’t be extradited to the United States on espionage charges unless U.S. authorities guarantee he won't get the death penalty, giving the WikiLeaks founder a partial victory in his long legal battle over the site's publication of classified American documents.
Two High Court judges said they would grant Assange a new appeal unless U.S. authorities give further assurances within three weeks about what will happen to him. The ruling means the legal saga, which has dragged on for more than a decade, will continue — and Assange will remain inside London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison, where he has spent the last five years.
Judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson said the U.S. must guarantee that Assange, who is Australian, “is afforded the same First Amendment protections as a United States citizen, and that the death penalty is not imposed.”
The judges said that if the U.S. files new assurances, "we will give the parties an opportunity to make further submissions before we make a final decision on the application for leave to appeal.” The judges said a hearing will be held May 20 if the U.S. makes those submissions.
The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment Tuesday.
Assange’s supporters say he is a journalist protected by the First Amendment who exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan that was in the public interest.
Assange's wife Stella Assange said the WikiLeaks founder “is being persecuted because he exposed the true cost of war in human lives.”
“The Biden administration should not issue assurances. They should drop this shameful case, which should never have been brought," she said outside the High Court in London.
The ruling follows a two-day hearing in the High Court in February, where Assange’s lawyer Edward Fitzgerald said American authorities were seeking to punish him for WikiLeaks’ “exposure of criminality on the part of the U.S. government on an unprecedented scale,” including torture and killings.
The U.S. government said Assange’s actions went beyond journalism by soliciting, stealing and indiscriminately publishing classified government documents that endangered many people, including Iraqis and Afghans who had helped U.S. forces.
The judges rejected six of Assange's nine grounds of appeal, including the allegation that his prosecution is political. They said that while Assange “acted out of political conviction … it does not follow however that the request for his extradition is made on account of his political views.”
The judges also said Assange could not appeal based on allegations, made by his lawyers, that the CIA developed plans to kidnap or kill Assange during the years he spent holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, to prevent him from trying to flee.
The judges said “plainly, these are allegations of the utmost seriousness,” but concluded they had no bearing on the extradition request.
“Extradition would result in him being lawfully in the custody of the United States authorities, and the reasons (if they can be called that) for rendition or kidnap or assassination then fall away,” the ruling said.
They accepted three grounds or appeal: the threat to Assange's freedom of speech, Assange's claim that he faces disadvantage because he is not a U.S. citizen, and the risk he could receive the death penalty.
U.S. authorities have promised Assange would not receive capital punishment, but the judges said that "nothing in the existing assurance explicitly prevents the imposition of the death penalty.”
Jennifer Robinson, one of Assange’s lawyers, said that “even if we receive the assurances, we’re not confident we can rely on them.”
Assange, 52, a computer expert, has been indicted in the U.S. on charges over Wikileaks’ publication in 2010 of hundreds of thousands of classified documents.
U.S. prosecutors say he conspired with U.S. army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Assange faces 17 counts under the Espionage Act and one charge of computer misuse. If convicted, his lawyers say he could receive a prison term of up to 175 years, though American authorities have said any sentence is likely to be much lower.
Assange’s wife and supporters say his physical and mental health have suffered during more than a decade of legal battles and confinement.
“My concerns about the precarious mental health of Julian Assange and his unfitness to be extradited, as well as the potential for him to receive a wholly disproportionate sentence in the United States, have not been assuaged by the court,” said Alice Jill Edwards, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture, an independent expert for the world body.
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.
The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually soured, and he was evicted from the embassy in April 2019. British police immediately arrested and imprisoned him for breaching bail in 2012. Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed.
A U.K. district court judge rejected the U.S. extradition request in 2021 on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. Higher courts overturned that decision after getting assurances from the U.S. about his treatment. The British government signed an extradition order in June 2022.
___
Associated Press writers Brian Melley in London and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange’s US extradition appeal delayed
Two High Court judges said they would grant Assange a new appeal unless U.S. authorities give further assurances within three weeks about what will happen to him. The ruling means the legal saga, which has dragged on for more than a decade, will continue — and Assange will remain inside London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison, where he has spent the last five years.
Judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson said the U.S. must guarantee that Assange, who is Australian, “is afforded the same First Amendment protections as a United States citizen, and that the death penalty is not imposed.”
The judges said that if the U.S. files new assurances, "we will give the parties an opportunity to make further submissions before we make a final decision on the application for leave to appeal.” The judges said a hearing will be held May 20 if the U.S. makes those submissions.
The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment Tuesday.
Assange’s supporters say he is a journalist protected by the First Amendment who exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan that was in the public interest.
Assange's wife Stella Assange said the WikiLeaks founder “is being persecuted because he exposed the true cost of war in human lives.”
“The Biden administration should not issue assurances. They should drop this shameful case, which should never have been brought," she said outside the High Court in London.
The ruling follows a two-day hearing in the High Court in February, where Assange’s lawyer Edward Fitzgerald said American authorities were seeking to punish him for WikiLeaks’ “exposure of criminality on the part of the U.S. government on an unprecedented scale,” including torture and killings.
The U.S. government said Assange’s actions went beyond journalism by soliciting, stealing and indiscriminately publishing classified government documents that endangered many people, including Iraqis and Afghans who had helped U.S. forces.
The judges rejected six of Assange's nine grounds of appeal, including the allegation that his prosecution is political. They said that while Assange “acted out of political conviction … it does not follow however that the request for his extradition is made on account of his political views.”
The judges also said Assange could not appeal based on allegations, made by his lawyers, that the CIA developed plans to kidnap or kill Assange during the years he spent holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, to prevent him from trying to flee.
The judges said “plainly, these are allegations of the utmost seriousness,” but concluded they had no bearing on the extradition request.
“Extradition would result in him being lawfully in the custody of the United States authorities, and the reasons (if they can be called that) for rendition or kidnap or assassination then fall away,” the ruling said.
They accepted three grounds or appeal: the threat to Assange's freedom of speech, Assange's claim that he faces disadvantage because he is not a U.S. citizen, and the risk he could receive the death penalty.
U.S. authorities have promised Assange would not receive capital punishment, but the judges said that "nothing in the existing assurance explicitly prevents the imposition of the death penalty.”
Jennifer Robinson, one of Assange’s lawyers, said that “even if we receive the assurances, we’re not confident we can rely on them.”
Assange, 52, a computer expert, has been indicted in the U.S. on charges over Wikileaks’ publication in 2010 of hundreds of thousands of classified documents.
U.S. prosecutors say he conspired with U.S. army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Assange faces 17 counts under the Espionage Act and one charge of computer misuse. If convicted, his lawyers say he could receive a prison term of up to 175 years, though American authorities have said any sentence is likely to be much lower.
Assange’s wife and supporters say his physical and mental health have suffered during more than a decade of legal battles and confinement.
“My concerns about the precarious mental health of Julian Assange and his unfitness to be extradited, as well as the potential for him to receive a wholly disproportionate sentence in the United States, have not been assuaged by the court,” said Alice Jill Edwards, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture, an independent expert for the world body.
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.
The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually soured, and he was evicted from the embassy in April 2019. British police immediately arrested and imprisoned him for breaching bail in 2012. Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed.
A U.K. district court judge rejected the U.S. extradition request in 2021 on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. Higher courts overturned that decision after getting assurances from the U.S. about his treatment. The British government signed an extradition order in June 2022.
___
Associated Press writers Brian Melley in London and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange’s US extradition appeal delayed
Nick Gutteridge
Tue, March 26, 2024
Julian Assange has been fighting for years to avoid being extradited from Britain
Julian Assange’s extradition has been delayed as the High Court ruled the United States must give assurances he will not face the death penalty.
In a judgment on Tuesday morning, Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Johnson dismissed most of the WikiLeaks founder’s legal arguments for leave to appeal against an earlier ruling which paved the way for his extradition to the US.
However the judges said that unless assurances were given by the United States he would be able to bring an appeal on three grounds.
These assurances are that Assange would be protected by and allowed to rely on the First Amendment – which protects freedom of speech in the US, that he is not “prejudiced at trial” due to his nationality, and that the death penalty is not imposed.
Assange, 52, has been accused of an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
Supporters of Julian Assange gathered outside the High Court in central London - Alberto Pezzali/AP
In their judgment, Dame Victoria and Mr Justice Johnson dismissed most of Assange’s legal arguments but said that he would be able to bring an appeal on three grounds unless assurances were given by the US.
The judges said the US authorities had three weeks to give those assurances, with a final decision to be made in late May.
In a 66-page ruling for the Assange case, Dame Victoria said: “Before making a final decision on the application for leave to appeal, we will give the respondent an opportunity to give assurances.
“If assurances are not given, then we will grant leave to appeal without a further hearing. If assurances are given, then we will give the parties an opportunity to make further submissions before we make a final decision on the application for leave to appeal.”
Stella Assange said the courts have invited 'a political intervention from the United States' - Stefan Rousseau/PA
Speaking after the judgment, Assange’s wife Stella said: “What the courts have done has been to invite a political intervention from the United States... send a letter saying: ‘It’s all ok.’ I find this astounding.
“This case is a retribution. It is a signal to all of you that if you expose the interests that are driving war they will come after you, they will put you in prison and will try to kill you.
“The Biden administration should not issue assurances. They should drop this shameful case that should never have been brought.”
At the start of Assange’s bid last month, Mark Summers KC argued the US’s prosecution would be retribution for his political opinions, meaning it would be unlawful to extradite him under UK law.
But Clair Dobbin KC, for the US, said the plans to extradite and prosecute Assange were based on his alleged actions, not his political opinions.
Scores of Assange supporters demonstrated outside the central London court over both days, waving banners and inviting passing drivers to honk their horns.
Julian Assange faces further wait over extradition ruling
Ian Aikman - BBC News
Tue, March 26, 2024
Mr Assange's lawyers say he faces up to 175 years in US prison, if convicted
The US must provide assurances that Julian Assange will not receive the death penalty if convicted, before a UK court rules on whether he can appeal against his extradition.
The court has adjourned its decision by three weeks to give the US government time to comply.
US authorities say the Wikileaks founder endangered lives by publishing thousands of classified documents.
His lawyers have argued that the case is form of "state retaliation".
In a High Court judgment on Tuesday, Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Johnson said that Mr Assange would be able to bring an appeal on three grounds, unless assurances were given by the United States.
These assurances are that the 52-year-old would be protected by and allowed to rely on the First Amendment - which protects freedom of speech in the US; that he would not be "prejudiced at trial" due to his nationality; and that he would not face the death penalty if he is convicted.
Judges have given the US authorities three weeks to make those assurances, with a final hearing potentially taking place on 20 May.
Who is Julian Assange and why is he facing extradition?
Assange's wife says he 'won't survive US extradition'
"If assurances are not given then we will grant leave to appeal without a further hearing," said Dame Victoria in the court's ruling.
"If assurances are given then we will give the parties an opportunity to make further submissions before we make a final decision on the application for leave to appeal."
However, the judges dismissed some grounds of the application to appeal, including Mr Assange's arguments that he was prosecuted because of his political opinions.
If his latest appeal is not granted, Mr Assange will have exhausted all of his legal avenues in the UK. His remaining option would be to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Speaking to the crowd gathered outside the court, his wife, Stella Assange, described her husband as a "political prisoner".
She urged US President Joe Biden's administration not to submit assurances, and instead to "drop this shameful case".
He is facing espionage charges in the US for publishing hundreds of thousands of leaked classified documents in 2010 and 2011.
During February's hearing, Mr Assange's legal team argued that he was being targeted for his exposure of "state-level crimes" and his punishment was "politically motivated".
But lawyers from the US pushed back, saying that WikiLeaks' actions "put lives at risk".
Stella Assange says she is "astounded" by the court's decision to delay her husband's appeal
Mr Assange's lawyers say he faces up to 175 years in jail if he is convicted. But the US government has previously said a sentence of between four and six years is more likely.
He did not attend the court hearing in February due to ill health. Ahead of the hearing, Mrs Assange said she feared for her husband's safety if he was extradited.
"This case will determine if he lives or dies, essentially," she told the BBC.
In 2021, the High Court ruled that Mr Assange could be extradited, rejecting claims that poor mental health meant he risked taking his own life in US jail.
The UK Supreme Court upheld the decision and the then Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed the extradition order in 2022.
His lawyers took his case to the European Court of Human Rights in 2022, but it was dismissed without a hearing.
Australia's parliament has passed a motion calling on the UK and US to release Mr Assange, though this has no legal bearing on either government.
Assange wins temporary reprieve from US extradition
Reuters Videos
Updated Tue, March 26, 2024
STORY: A momentary reprieve for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Tuesday (March 26), after his extradition to the United States from Britain was put on hold.
London's High Court said the U.S. must provide assurances he would not face the death penalty.
U.S. prosecutors are seeking to put 52-year-old Assange on trial on 18 counts.
They are all, bar one, over WikiLeaks' high-profile release of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables.
Assange's wife, Stella, hailed the decision by the UK court as "astounding".
"Now the UK courts have invited the United States to issue assurances, the Biden administration should not issue assurances, they should drop this shameful case that should never have been brought, Julian should never have been in prison for a single day, this is a shame on every democracy."
Assange's lawyers sought permission in February to challenge Britain's approval of his extradition, part of a more than 13-year legal battle in English courts.
In their ruling, two senior judges said he had a real prospect of successfully appealing against extradition on a number of grounds.
The court said in its written ruling that Assange arguably would not be entitled to rely on the First Amendment right to free speech as a non-U.S. national.
And that, while none of the existing charges carried the death penalty, he could later be charged with a capital offense such as treason, meaning it would be unlawful to extradite him.
The ruling said his case was at least arguable, citing "the calls for the imposition of the death penalty by leading politicians and other public figures."
The judges said Assange had pointed to a comment by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
When discussing WikiLeaks in 2010, he had said, quote, that "I think there should be like a death penalty or something."
The judgment said that if the U.S. assurances were not forthcoming by April 16, then Assange would be granted permission to appeal.
A further hearing has been scheduled for May 20.
That means his extradition has been put on hold - for now, at least.
Assange's many supporters hail him as an anti-establishment hero and journalist who is being persecuted for exposing U.S. wrongdoing and alleged war crimes.
The U.S. says WikiLeaks' revelations put the lives of their agents at risk, and there was no excuse for his criminality.
Timeline of the Assange legal saga as he faces further delay in bid to avoid extradition to the US
SYLVIA HUI
Updated Tue, March 26, 2024
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, in London, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Two High Court judges said they would grant Assange a new appeal unless U.S. authorities give further assurances about what will happen to him. The case has been adjourned until May 20.
(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
LONDON (AP) — After fighting for more than a decade to avoid being sent to the U.S., WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is facing further delays in learning whether he can make a new legal challenge against his extradition.
Assange, 52, faces charges related to his organization's publication of a huge trove of classified documents. He has been in custody in a high-security London prison since 2019, and previously spent seven years in self-exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
As judges at London’s High Court adjourned his case Tuesday to give U.S. authorities more time to submit assurances about what would happen to him if he is extradited, here is a look at key events in the long-running legal saga:
— 2006: Assange founds WikiLeaks in Australia. The group begins publishing sensitive or classified documents.
— 2010: In a series of posts, WikiLeaks released almost half a million documents relating to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
— August 2010: Swedish prosecutors issue an arrest warrant for Assange based on one woman’s allegation of rape and another’s allegation of molestation. The warrant is withdrawn shortly afterward, with prosecutors citing insufficient evidence for the rape allegation. Assange denies the allegations.
— September 2010: Sweden’s director of prosecutions reopens the rape investigation. Assange leaves Sweden for Britain.
— November 2010: Swedish police issue an international arrest warrant for Assange.
— December 2010: Assange surrenders to police in London and is detained pending an extradition hearing. High Court grants Assange bail.
— February 2011: District court in Britain rules Assange should be extradited to Sweden.
— June 2012: Assange enters Ecuadorian Embassy in central London, seeking asylum on June 19, after his bids to appeal the extradition ruling failed. Police set up round-the-clock guard to arrest him if he steps outside.
— August 2012: Assange is granted political asylum by Ecuador.
— July 2014: Assange loses his bid to have an arrest warrant issued in Sweden against him canceled. A judge in Stockholm upholds the warrant alleging sexual offenses against two women.
— March 2015: Swedish prosecutors ask to question Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy.
— August 2015: Swedish prosecutors drop investigations into some allegations against Assange because of the statute of limitations; an investigation into a rape allegation remains active.
— October 2015: Metropolitan Police end their 24-hour guard outside the Ecuadorian Embassy but say they’ll arrest Assange if he leaves, ending a three-year police operation estimated to have cost millions.
— February 2016: Assange claims “total vindication” as the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention finds that he has been unlawfully detained and recommends he be immediately freed and given compensation. Britain calls the finding “frankly ridiculous.”
— September 2018: Ecuador’s president says his country and Britain are working on a legal solution to allow Assange to leave the embassy.
— October 2018: Assange seeks a court injunction pressing Ecuador to provide him basic rights he said the country agreed to when it first granted him asylum.
— November 2018: A U.S. court filing that appears to inadvertently reveal the existence of a sealed criminal case against Assange is discovered by a researcher. No details are confirmed.
— April 2019: Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno blames WikiLeaks for recent corruption allegations; Ecuador's government revokes Assange's asylum status. London police haul Assange out of the Ecuadorian Embassy and arrest him for breaching bail conditions in 2012, as well as on behalf of U.S. authorities.
— May 2019: Assange is sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for jumping bail in 2012.
— May 2019: The U.S. government indicts Assange on 18 charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of classified documents. Prosecutors say he conspired with U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
— November 2019: Swedish prosecutor drops rape investigation.
— May 2020: An extradition hearing for Assange is delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
— June 2020: The U.S. files new indictment against Assange that prosecutors say underscores Assange’s efforts to procure and release classified information.
— January 2021: A British judge rules Assange cannot be extradited to the U.S. because he is likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions.
— July 2021: The High Court grants the U.S. government permission to appeal the lower court's ruling blocking Assange's extradition.
— December 2021: The High Court rules that U.S. assurances about Assange's detention are enough to guarantee he would be treated humanely.
— March 2022: Britain’s top court refuses to grant Assange permission to appeal against his extradition.
— June 2022: Britain's government orders the extradition of Assange to the United States. Assange appeals.
— May 2023: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Assange should be released and “nothing is served” by his ongoing incarceration.
— June 2023: A High Court judge rules Assange cannot appeal his extradition.
— Feb. 20, 2024: Assange's lawyers launch a final legal bid to stop his extradition at the High Court.
— March 26, 2024: Two High Court judges in London give U.S. authorities three more weeks to submit further assurances, including a guarantee that Assange won't get the death penalty, before deciding whether they will grant him a new appeal against his extradition.
LONDON (AP) — After fighting for more than a decade to avoid being sent to the U.S., WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is facing further delays in learning whether he can make a new legal challenge against his extradition.
Assange, 52, faces charges related to his organization's publication of a huge trove of classified documents. He has been in custody in a high-security London prison since 2019, and previously spent seven years in self-exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
As judges at London’s High Court adjourned his case Tuesday to give U.S. authorities more time to submit assurances about what would happen to him if he is extradited, here is a look at key events in the long-running legal saga:
— 2006: Assange founds WikiLeaks in Australia. The group begins publishing sensitive or classified documents.
— 2010: In a series of posts, WikiLeaks released almost half a million documents relating to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
— August 2010: Swedish prosecutors issue an arrest warrant for Assange based on one woman’s allegation of rape and another’s allegation of molestation. The warrant is withdrawn shortly afterward, with prosecutors citing insufficient evidence for the rape allegation. Assange denies the allegations.
— September 2010: Sweden’s director of prosecutions reopens the rape investigation. Assange leaves Sweden for Britain.
— November 2010: Swedish police issue an international arrest warrant for Assange.
— December 2010: Assange surrenders to police in London and is detained pending an extradition hearing. High Court grants Assange bail.
— February 2011: District court in Britain rules Assange should be extradited to Sweden.
— June 2012: Assange enters Ecuadorian Embassy in central London, seeking asylum on June 19, after his bids to appeal the extradition ruling failed. Police set up round-the-clock guard to arrest him if he steps outside.
— August 2012: Assange is granted political asylum by Ecuador.
— July 2014: Assange loses his bid to have an arrest warrant issued in Sweden against him canceled. A judge in Stockholm upholds the warrant alleging sexual offenses against two women.
— March 2015: Swedish prosecutors ask to question Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy.
— August 2015: Swedish prosecutors drop investigations into some allegations against Assange because of the statute of limitations; an investigation into a rape allegation remains active.
— October 2015: Metropolitan Police end their 24-hour guard outside the Ecuadorian Embassy but say they’ll arrest Assange if he leaves, ending a three-year police operation estimated to have cost millions.
— February 2016: Assange claims “total vindication” as the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention finds that he has been unlawfully detained and recommends he be immediately freed and given compensation. Britain calls the finding “frankly ridiculous.”
— September 2018: Ecuador’s president says his country and Britain are working on a legal solution to allow Assange to leave the embassy.
— October 2018: Assange seeks a court injunction pressing Ecuador to provide him basic rights he said the country agreed to when it first granted him asylum.
— November 2018: A U.S. court filing that appears to inadvertently reveal the existence of a sealed criminal case against Assange is discovered by a researcher. No details are confirmed.
— April 2019: Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno blames WikiLeaks for recent corruption allegations; Ecuador's government revokes Assange's asylum status. London police haul Assange out of the Ecuadorian Embassy and arrest him for breaching bail conditions in 2012, as well as on behalf of U.S. authorities.
— May 2019: Assange is sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for jumping bail in 2012.
— May 2019: The U.S. government indicts Assange on 18 charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of classified documents. Prosecutors say he conspired with U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
— November 2019: Swedish prosecutor drops rape investigation.
— May 2020: An extradition hearing for Assange is delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
— June 2020: The U.S. files new indictment against Assange that prosecutors say underscores Assange’s efforts to procure and release classified information.
— January 2021: A British judge rules Assange cannot be extradited to the U.S. because he is likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions.
— July 2021: The High Court grants the U.S. government permission to appeal the lower court's ruling blocking Assange's extradition.
— December 2021: The High Court rules that U.S. assurances about Assange's detention are enough to guarantee he would be treated humanely.
— March 2022: Britain’s top court refuses to grant Assange permission to appeal against his extradition.
— June 2022: Britain's government orders the extradition of Assange to the United States. Assange appeals.
— May 2023: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Assange should be released and “nothing is served” by his ongoing incarceration.
— June 2023: A High Court judge rules Assange cannot appeal his extradition.
— Feb. 20, 2024: Assange's lawyers launch a final legal bid to stop his extradition at the High Court.
— March 26, 2024: Two High Court judges in London give U.S. authorities three more weeks to submit further assurances, including a guarantee that Assange won't get the death penalty, before deciding whether they will grant him a new appeal against his extradition.
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, releases a statement outside the Royal Courts of Justice, in London, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Two High Court judges said they would grant Assange a new appeal unless U.S. authorities give further assurances about what will happen to him. The case has been adjourned until May 20.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
