LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 19: Julian Assange gestures as he speaks to the media from the balcony of the Embassy Of Ecuador on May 19, 2017 in London, England. Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
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LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has the right to appeal against his extradition to the U.S., a high court in London found Monday.
Judges allowed an appeal after finding that U.S. assurances over how Assange’s case would be tried if he were extradited were not sufficient. An appeal hearing could be months away, Assange’s lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald, said Monday, according to Reuters.
Assange is wanted in the U.S. on spying charges and faces up to 175 years in prison. The charges are linked to WikiLeaks publishing hundreds of thousands of leaked confidential military and diplomatic files on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
Throughout Assange’s legal battle against extradition, which has lasted more than a decade, the 52-year-old has spent seven years in self-exile within the Ecuadorian Embassy in the U.K. and nearly five years in a high-security prison near London.
Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange celebrate outside The Royal Courts of Justice, Britain’s High Court, in central London on May 20, 2024, after hearing the news that his bid to appeal against his extradition to the US had been granted.
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The court battle
These included that Assange would be able to rely on the First Amendment right to free speech during a trial, and that, as an Australian, he would be granted the same First Amendment protections as a U.S. citizen. The U.K. court also requested assurances that Assange would not face the death penalty.
Fitzgerald on Monday told the court that the assurances made by the U.S. regarding Assange’s ability to rely on his First Amendment right were “blatantly inadequate,” Reuters reported.
The guarantee that Assange will not face the death penalty was accepted by Fitzgerald, who said the U.S. had made an “unambiguous promise not to charge any capital offense.”
James Lewis, who was representing U.S. authorities, said that any offered assurance does not bind the courts, but that they would consider and implement the provision as much as possible.
Assange supporters celebrate
Stella Assange, wife of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, speaks outside court after the ruling to grant permission for appeal, on May 20, 2024 in London, England.
Peter Nicholls | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Protesters had gathered outside the court in London on Monday in support of Assange, and cheering erupted when the judge’s decision was announced, videos on social media showed. Signs held by protesters called for Assange to be freed and for U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to drop charges.
After the ruling, Assange’s wife, Stella, said that judges had made the right pronouncement and called on the U.S. to drop the case.
“The judges reached the right decision. We spent a long time hearing the United States putting lipstick on a pig, but the judges did not buy it,” she told reporters outside the court.
“As a family, we are relieved, but how long can this go on? The United States should read the situation and drop this case now. Now is the moment to do it,” she added.
Biden last month said he would consider a request from Australia to shut down the case and let Assange return to his home country, according to Reuters.
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