Extradition demanded

Hearing without result: Assange must continue to fear

Assange faces up to 175 years in prison in the USA.(Bild: AFP)

Julian Assange must continue to wait and see in the fight against his impending extradition to the USA. A hearing before a court in London ended on Wednesday without a decision - the judges want to decide at a later date whether the WikiLeaks founder is entitled to a full appeal.

An appeal would be the 52-year-old Australian's last chance to defend himself against his deportation in a British court. The US Department of Justice accuses Assange of espionage.

On Wednesday, a lawyer for the United States rejected the accusation that the US was persecuting Assange because of his political views. Instead, Clair Dobbin argued that Assange had endangered other people by publishing unredacted documents. It was not a "slip-up" or "mistake", but rather that huge amounts of uncensored material had been published.

Assange's wife fears for his life
Outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Wednesday, protesters once again demanded that Assange be released. They held a banner and placards with inscriptions such as "Free Assange" and "Journalism is not a crime".

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Should Assange's appeal be rejected in London, he would still have to go to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. His wife Stella Assange had announced that his team would immediately file an application for an interim injunction to prevent his immediate extradition. Stella Assange also said in advance that she feared for his life due to the expected harsh prison conditions in the USA and her husband's unstable psyche.

Timetable unclear
It was not initially clear when exactly a decision on the appeal would be made. However, Assange's wife fears that the 52-year-old could be put on a plane to the USA within days.

The US Department of Justice wants to put Assange on trial on espionage charges. The US government accuses him of stealing and publishing secret material from US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan together with US whistleblower Chelsea Manning, thereby endangering the lives of US whistleblowers.

Supporters, on the other hand, see Assange as a journalist who has brought war crimes to light. The Australian has been held in London's Belmarsh maximum security prison since his arrest in April 2019.