Supreme Court DENIES WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange permission to appeal extradition to the US
Supreme Court DENIES WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange permission to appeal extradition to the US
WikiLeaks founder asked Supreme Court permission to appeal High Court rulingThe High Court ruled in December 2021 that Assange could be extradited to USToday the Supreme Court confirmed it had rejected Assange’s appeal request
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Julian Assange has today been denied permission to appeal his extradition to the United States.
The WikiLeaks founder, 50, had asked the Supreme Court to allow him to challenge a December 2021 decision by the High Court, which ruled he could be extradited to America.
However the Supreme Court today confirmed it had rejected Assange’s appeal request.
The decision will now fall to Priti Patel on whether to authorise his extradition, according to WikiLeaks.
The Supreme Court, the UK’s highest court, denied his request to challenge the High Court ruling as his decision as his application did not raise ‘an arguable point of law’.
The WikiLeaks founder had asked the Supreme Court permission to appeal a December 2021 decision by the High Court to extradite him to America
Assange is wanted in America over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.
If convicted in the US, Assange faces a possible penalty of up to 175 years in jail, his lawyers have said.
However the US government said the sentence was more likely to be between four and six years.
It followed WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
He says the information exposed abuses by the US military, but the US say the leaks of classified material endangered lives, and so the US sought his extradition from the UK.
US authorities brought a High Court challenge against a January ruling by then-district judge Vanessa Baraitser that Assange should not be sent to the US, in which she cited a real and ‘oppressive’ risk of suicide.
However the US won its appeal against the ruling that Assange could not be extradited due to concerns over his mental health.
The setback for Assange comes just a day after his fiancée spoke of her joy at being allowed to marry the WikiLeaks founder despite restrictions being placed on their wedding.
Stella Moris, 38, is set to marry Assange in Belmarsh Prison, south east London on March 23, just weeks before the third anniversary of his dramatic arrest when he was dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in the capital in April 2019.
He has been held in the high-security jail ever since. He has always denied wrongdoing and has won support for his case from human rights organisations and journalist groups across the world.
Ms Moris said that just four guests and two witnesses will be allowed to attend the ceremony, as well as two security guards.
Dame Vivienne Westwood is designing Ms Moris’s wedding dress, and a kilt for Assange, whose parents are of Scottish extraction.
Stella Moris, 38, (right) will marry 50-year-old Julian Assange (left) in Belmarsh Prison, south east London on March 23, just weeks before the third anniversary of his dramatic arrest when he was dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in the capital in April 2019
Ms Moris said that just four guests and two witnesses will be allowed to attend the ceremony, as well as two security guards. Dame Vivienne Westwood is designing Ms Moris’s wedding dress, and a kilt for Assange, whose parents are of Scottish extraction
The guests will have to leave immediately after the event, even though it is being held during normal visiting hours.
The couple are still waiting to hear if they will be allowed a photographer.
Ms Moris said: ‘Obviously we are very excited, even though the circumstances are very restrictive.
‘There continues to be unjustified interference in our plans. Having a photographer for an hour is not an unreasonable request.
‘All the guests and witnesses must leave as soon as the ceremony is over, even though that will be before normal visiting time ends.
‘Julian is looking forward to the wedding because it is finally happening, many months after we first made the request.’
Ms Moris, who spoke to Assange on Sunday, added: ‘He is being held on behalf of a foreign power and has not been charged with anything, which is completely disgraceful.’
The couple finally registered to marry in November last year, having previously accused the prison governor and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab of working to prevent the ceremony going ahead.
Assange has been held in the high-security jail since April 2019 as he fights extradition to the United States, where he is wanted over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents
After visiting him in Belmarsh Prison, she said in November: ‘Today Julian and I are finally registering our intention to marry here inside Belmarsh prison. We were originally booked to do so three weeks ago.
‘Of course, the circumstances are not ideal but I am relieved that reason has prevailed and I hope there will be no further interference with our marriage.
‘In the UK everyone who is old enough, no matter who they are or where they are from, has a basic human right to get married to whom they choose.
‘This right is written into law. Julian is not charged with any crime in this country, he is not serving a sentence, his imprisonment serves no purpose at all other than to prolong and make his suffering worse.
‘I hope the injustice of this situation is swiftly brought to an end so that we can enjoy marriage outside of the walls of Belmarsh when he is freed.’
The couple have been engaged for several years and have been trying to get married despite the legal action.
The couple finally registered to marry in November last year, having previously accused the prison governor and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab of working to prevent the ceremony going ahead (Stella Moris pictured outside the Royal Courts of Justice following the appeal against Assange’s extradition in London in January)
Ms Moris said of the news after speaking to Assange on Sunday: ‘Julian is looking forward to the wedding because it is finally happening, many months after we first made the request’ (Ms Moris pictured outside the Royal Courts of Justice following the appeal against Assange’s extradition in London in January)
Assange secretly fathered his two sons while holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
The 50-year-old had entered the building in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face sex offence allegations, which he has always denied and were eventually dropped.
Gabriel and Max were conceived with Ms Moris while their father was hiding out to avoid extradition to America, where he faces espionage charges over the leaking of thousands of classified US intelligence documents.
Mr Assange is wanted in the US on allegations of a conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following WikiLeaks’s publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
He has been held in Belmarsh Prison since 2019 after he was carried out of the Ecuadorian embassy by police before being arrested for breaching his bail conditions.
