UK Court Overturns First Instance: "Wikileaks' Assange Can Be Extradited to the US"

Accepting US Government Claims... "No History of Mental Illness in Assange... Safe to Extradite"

Supporters of Julian Assange, the founder of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, held a protest on August 11 (local time) around the High Court in London, UK, where his extradition to the United States was being reviewed.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The UK High Court has ruled that Julian Assange, the creator of 'WikiLeaks,' can be extradited to the United States. This overturned the first-instance ruling that refused extradition due to the risk that Assange might attempt suicide if sent to the US.

According to major foreign media including the Associated Press, on the 10th (local time), the UK High Court ruled in the US government's appeal to extradite Assange on criminal charges that extradition is possible.

In January, a UK court refused extradition, citing the risk that Assange might attempt suicide because he could not endure the US judicial system. The US government appealed, stating that "Assange does not have a history of serious and persistent mental illness." They also argued that if extradited, he could serve his sentence in his home country, Australia. The UK High Court accepted this request from the US government.

Assange disclosed 700,000 documents related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, including reports leaked by US Army Private Bradley Manning in 2010 and confidential documents from the State Department, through the WikiLeaks website. After causing a major uproar, he lived in hiding for seven years at the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK and was arrested by British police in April 2019. At that time, the US indicted Assange on 18 charges including espionage and requested his extradition from the UK.

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