- Title: UK court to rule on U.S. appeal to extradite Julian Assange
- Date: 9th December 2021
- Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (FILE - FEBRUARY 5, 2016) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** CHAIR-RAPPORTEUR OF THE UNITED NATIONS WORKING GROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION, HONG SEONG-PHIL, SITTING IN HIS OFFICE AND TALKING VARIOUS OF STATEMENT ON ARBITRARY DETENTION OF ASSANGE FROM THE UNITED NATIONS WORKING GROUP PLACED ON DESK (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIR-RAPPORTEUR OF THE U.N. WORKING GROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION, HONG SEONG-PHIL, SAYING: "The Working Group maintains the arbitrary detention of Mr Assange should be brought to an end, and his physical integrity and his freedom of movement should be respected. And finally, if necessary, he should be entitled to an enforceable right to remedy, for example, compensation." LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - FEBRUARY 5, 2016) (REUTERS) MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA OUTSIDE ECUADORIAN EMBASSY, WAITING FOR ASSANGE TO APPEAR ON THE BALCONY (SOUNDBITE) (English) WIKILEAKS FOUNDER, JULIAN ASSANGE, SAYING HOLDING UP U.N. PANEL DECISION AND SAYING: "How sweet it is. This is a victory that cannot be denied. It's a victory of historical importance, not just for me, for my family, for my children, but for the independence of the U.N. system." VARIOUS OF ASSANGE SPEAKING FROM BALCONY (SOUNDBITE) (English) WIKILEAKS FOUNDER, JULIAN ASSANGE, SAYING: "The U.N. last night issued a statement stating that the determination is legally binding (CROWD CHEERING). There have been comments from Philip Hammond, the foreign minister of this country (Britain), today saying this changes nothing." MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA OUTSIDE EMBASSY ASSANGE ENTERING EMBASSY FROM BALCONY PEOPLE OUTSIDE EMBASSY BERLIN, GERMANY (FILE - OCTOBER 4, 2016) (REUTERS) JOURNALISTS PRESENTER CONGRATULATING ASSANGE ON HIS BIRTHDAY / ASSANGE ON SCREEN VIA VIDEO LINK PHOTOGRAPHER TAKING PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) WIKILEAKS FOUNDER, JULIAN ASSANGE, SAYING: (VIA VIDEO LINK) "There has been a misquoting of me and WikiLeaks publications. In this particular case, that they're misquoting has to do with we intend to harm Hillary Clinton, or that I intend to harm Hillary Clinton or that I don't like Hillary Clinton. All those are false. They come about as a result, principally - it seems - of this campaign and this trying to personalise our publications, and our upcoming publications are significant in relation to the U.S. election. Yes, we think they are significant." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - MAY 19, 2017) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF ECUADORIAN EMBASSY AND ITS BALCONY / MEMBERS OF MEDIA OUTSIDE ECUADORIAN FLAG FLYING EMBASSY WITH MEMBERS OF MEDIA OUTSIDE ASSANGE WALKING ONTO EMBASSY'S BALCONY, MAKING CLENCHED FIST IN THE AIR (SOUNDBITE) (English) WIKILEAKS FOUNDER, JULIAN ASSANGE, SAYING: "Today is an important victory for me and for the U.N. human rights system. But it by no means erases seven years of detention without charge, imprisoned under house arrest and almost five years here in this embassy without sunlight. Seven years without charge while my children grew up without me. That is not something I can forgive, it is not something I can forget." MEMBERS OF MEDIA OUTSIDE EMBASSY QUITO, ECUADOR (FILE - JANUARY 11, 2018) (REUTERS) ECUADORIAN FLAG EXTERIOR OF ECUADORIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY ECUADORIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, MARIA FERNANDA ESPINOSA, ENTERING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ECUADORIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, MARIA FERNANDA ESPINOSA, SAYING: "Another alternative refers to the process of naturalisation of Mr. Assange. He asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility for his naturalisation on September 16, 2017. Once, of course, he had been a person under international protection for about five-and-a-half years under the jurisdiction of the Ecuadorian state in its embassy in in London. That naturalisation was granted on December 12, 2017." LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - FEBRUARY 13, 2018) (REUTERS) PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PICTURES THROUGH ECUADORIAN EMBASSY'S WINDOW OF CAT WEARING RAINBOW TIE ASSANGE'S EMBASSY CAT IN WINDOW EXTERIOR OF ECUADORIAN EMBASSY ECUADORIAN FLAG OUTSIDE EMBASSY / CAT IN WINDOW VARIOUS OF "EMBASSY CAT" IN WINDOW
- Embargoed: 23rd December 2021 19:20
- Keywords: Ecuadorian embassy Julian Assange London United States Wikileaks founder appeal arrest warrant extradition hearing
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Europe,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00OF7C0F2F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS PROFANE LANGUAGE
A UK court on Friday (December 10) is expected to hand down a decision on a U.S. appeal against a ruling that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should not be extradited.
The 50-year-old Australian is wanted in the United States to face trial on 18 charges including breaking an espionage law, after WikiLeaks published thousands of secret U.S. files and diplomatic cables in 2010.
Assange, who denies any wrongdoing, is being held at Belmarsh Prison.
The United States Government is appealing against a Jan. 4 ruling by a British judge that Assange should not be extradited because his mental health was such that he would likely commit suicide in a U.S. prison.
U.S. prosecutors and Western security officials regard Assange as a reckless enemy of the state whose actions threatened the lives of agents named in the leaked material.
Supporters pit him as an anti-establishment hero who exposed U.S. wrongdoing in Afghanistan and Iraq, and say his prosecution is a politically-motivated assault on journalism that gives a free pass to oppressive regimes around the world.
WikiLeaks came to prominence when it published a U.S. military video in 2010 showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters in Baghdad that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff.
An effort to extradite him was launched in 2019 after he was detained in London after taking refuge in Ecuador's embassy in the British capital for seven years to avoid being extradited to Sweden. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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