WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s possible final hearing challenging his extradition to the U.S. to face charges for publishing classified U.S. military documents kicked off Tuesday morning at the British High Court in London.
Members of the European Parliament are the latest to call on the U.K. to halt Assange’s extradition and release him from custody. Assange’s possible final appeal before two judges to block his extradition will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, although a full appeal hearing could come in the future if he wins in court this week. If he is extradited to the U.S. after exhausting all his legal appeals, Assange would face trial in Alexandria, Virginia, and could be sentenced to up to 175 years in an American maximum-security prison.
Supporters in London, Washington, D.C., and cities around the world will hold rallies on Tuesday calling for Assange’s freedom.
In a letter Monday, 46 members of the European Parliament called on U.K. Home Secretary James Cleverly to “ensure the protection and safety of Julian Assange, to release him from the prison, and to prevent his extradition,” emphasizing that the freedom of the press and the public’s right to be informed is at stake.
Under the Trump administration, the CIA allegedly had plans to kill Assange over the publication of sensitive agency hacking tools known as “Vault 7,” which were leaked to WikiLeaks, Yahoo reported in 2021. The agency said the leak represented “the largest data loss in CIA history.”
The CIA was accused of having discussions “at the highest levels” of the administration about plans to assassinate Assange in London and allegedly followed orders from then-CIA director Mike Pompeo to draw up kill “sketches” and “options.” The agency also had advanced plans to kidnap and rendition Assange and had made a political decision to charge him, according to the Yahoo report.
WikiLeaks also published internal communications in 2016 between the Democratic National Committee and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign that revealed the DNC’s attempts to boost Clinton in that year’s Democratic primary.
