A British court has ruled that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can not be extradited in order to stand trial in the US. In a ruling, Judge Vanessa Baraitser said that, while Assange had gone beyond the role of acting as a journalist, the risk to his health was too great. The US has already committed to appealing the ruling, and the case is likely to end up in the British Supreme Court, a process which will take several years.
The 49-year-old Australian is charged with espionage and conspiracy to commit computer hacking after his site published confidential military information. In the UK and US, advocates for Mr. Assange believe that his work constitutes journalism, and as such, extradition would be a violation of press freedom. In her judgment, Baraitser said that Assange’s activities had exceeded that of a journalist, and that had his work taken place under the UK’s jurisdiction, he would be in violation of the Official Secrets Act.read more
UK court rules Julian Assange shouldn’t be extradited to the US
