British court says Julian Assange can appeal his extradition to the US over espionage charges

Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder wanted by U.S. authorities for spying, might not have to go to America after all, CNN reports.

Two senior judges on the UK’s High Court to granted Assange permission to appeal his extradition on the grounds that as a foreign national from Australia, his right to free speech on U.S. soil was not guaranteed. American prosecutors had tried unsuccessfully to assure the court that Assange would enjoy full rights and not be discriminated against.

While Assange’s lawyer Edward Fitzgerald argued that such assurances were inadequate, he accepted a separate guarantee from U.S. prosecutors that they would not seek the death penalty.

Hundreds of supporters gathered outside the court, beating drums and calling for the U.S. government to drop the case against Assange. When the ruling was announced, the crowd broke into cheering and singing. Amnesty International called the decision “a rare piece of positive news for Julian Assange and all defenders of press freedom” after 13 years of legal battles. During that period, Assange was first holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London before spending five years in London’s high-security Belmarsh prison.

“The USA’s ongoing attempt to prosecute Assange puts media freedom at risk worldwide. It ridicules the USA’s obligations under international law, and their stated commitment to freedom of expression,” said Simon Crowther, legal adviser at Amnesty. “It is vital that journalists and whistleblowers are able to participate in critical reporting in the public interest without fear of persecution.”

U.S. authorities are seeking to nail Assange on foreign espionage charges for overseeing the leak of thousands of classified documents and diplomatic cables in 2010 and 2011. If convicted, Assange faces imprisonment for life. The case against Assange was filed by Donald Trump’s administration in 2019, and now his successor, Joe Biden, is facing calls to let it go. “We’re considering it,” Biden told reporters in April.