Judge Vanessa Baraitser, who has been hearing arguments in London regarding whether Julian Assange of Wikileaks should be extradited from Great Britain to the United States for prosecution related to Assange’s involvement in bringing about the publication of secret US government information, ruled today that Assange not be extradited.
The decision can be appealed in the British courts by the US, and it is yet to be decided whether Assange can be free on bail during appeal.
Ben Quinn provides more information in a Guardian article here.
The court decision may be read here.
Prominent libertarian communicator and former US House of Representatives Member Ron Paul has been among the longtime vocal supporters of the US ending its effort to prosecute Assange. Writing in a February 24 editorial, for example, Paul concluded with a call for the termination of those prosecutorial efforts and the granting of a presidential pardon for Assange:
The Trump Administration argues that the Australian Assange should be tried and convicted of espionage against a country of which he is not a citizen. At the same time the Trump Administration argues that the First Amendment does not apply to Assange because he is not an American citizen! So Assange is subject to US law when it comes to publishing information embarrassing to the US deep state but he is not subject to the law of the land – the US Constitution – which protects all journalists and is the backbone of our system of government.
It is ironic that a President Trump who has been victim of so much deep state meddling has done the deep state’s bidding when it comes to Assange and Wikileaks. President Trump should preempt the inevitable US show trial of Assange by granting the journalist blanket pardon under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
The deep state Trump is serving by persecuting Assange is the same deep state that continues to plot Trump’s own ouster. Free Assange!
