LONDON: A British court ruled Tuesday that Julian Assange can’t be extradited to the United States on espionage charges unless US authorities guarantee he won’t get the death penalty, giving the WikiLeaks founder a partial victory in his long legal battle over the site’s publication of classified American documents.
Two High Court judges said they would grant Assange a new appeal unless US authorities give further assurances within three weeks about what will happen to him. The ruling means the legal saga, which has dragged on for more than a decade, will continue — and Assange will remain inside London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison, where he has spent the last five years.
Judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson said the US must guarantee that Assange, who is Australian, “is afforded the same First Amendment protections as a United States citizen, and that the death penalty is not imposed.”
The judges said that if the US files new assurances, “we will give the parties an opportunity to make further submissions before we make a final decision on the application for leave to appeal.” The judges said a hearing will be held May 20 if the US makes those submissions.
Assange’s supporters say he is a journalist protected by the First Amendment who exposed US military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan that was in the public interest. They have argued his prosecution is politically motivated and he can’t get a fair trial in the US
Assange’s wife Stella Assange said the WikiLeaks founder “is being persecuted because he exposed the true cost of war in human lives.”
“The Biden administration should not issue assurances. They should drop this shameful case, which should never have been brought,” she said outside the High Court in London.
The ruling follows a two-day hearing in the High Court in February, where Assange’s lawyer Edward Fitzgerald said American authorities were seeking to punish him for WikiLeaks’ “exposure of criminality on the part of the US government on an unprecedented scale,” including torture and killings.
The US government said Assange’s actions went beyond journalism by soliciting, stealing and indiscriminately publishing classified government documents that endangered innocent lives.
The judges rejected six of Assange’s nine grounds of appeal, including the allegation that his prosecution is political. They said that while Assange “acted out of political conviction … it does not follow however that the request for his extradition is made on account of his political views.”
They accepted three grounds or appeal: the threat to Assange’s freedom of speech, Assange’s claim that he faces disadvantage because he is not a US citizen, and the risk he could receive the death penalty.
US authorities have promised Assange would not receive capital punishment, but the judges said that “nothing in the existing assurance explicitly prevents the imposition of the death penalty.”
Assange, 52, an Australian computer expert, has been indicted in the US on charges over Wikileaks’ publication in 2010 of hundreds of thousands of classified documents.
US prosecutors say he conspired with US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Assange faces 17 espionage counts and one charge of computer misuse. If convicted, his lawyers say he could receive a prison term of up to 175 years, though American authorities have said any sentence is likely to be much lower.
Assange’s wife and supporters say his physical and mental health have suffered during more than a decade of legal battles, including seven years in self-exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and the last five years in prison.
Assange’s legal troubles began in 2010, when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women. In 2012, Assange jumped bail and sought refuge inside the Ecuadorian Embassy.
The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually soured, and he was evicted from the embassy in April 2019. British police immediately arrested and imprisoned him for breaching bail in 2012. Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed.
A UK district court judge rejected the US extradition request in 2021 on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh US prison conditions. Higher courts overturned that decision after getting assurances from the US about his treatment. The British government signed an extradition order in June 2022.
UK court says Assange can’t be extradited on espionage charges until US rules out death penalty
https://arab.news/zcurn
UK court says Assange can’t be extradited on espionage charges until US rules out death penalty
- Two High Court judges said they would grant Assange a new appeal unless US authorities give further assurances about what will happen to him
- The ruling means the legal saga, which has dragged on for over a decade, will continue and Assange will remain inside London’s high-security prison
Stars and royals gather for the BAFTA film awards, with ‘One Battle’ and ‘Sinners’ leading the race
LONDON: Hollywood stars and British celebrities, from Paddington Bear to the Princess of Wales, gathered Sunday for the British Academy Film Awards, where politically charged thriller “One Battle After Another” and blues-steeped epic “Sinners” led the field of nominees.
The two films snagged early prizes, with Wunmi Mosaku taking the supporting actress award for “Sinners,” and Sean Penn winning the supporting actor trophy for “One Battle After Another.”
Oddsmakers suggest Shakespearean family tragedy “Hamnet” could beat the front-runners to best picture if British film industry voters respond to the emotionally rich story, earthy English setting and intense performances in Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s historical novel.
Stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy, Glenn Close and Ethan Hawke were among those walking the red carpet outside London’s Royal Festival Hall before a black-tie ceremony hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming.
Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales also attended, three days after William’s uncle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested by police and held for 11 hours over allegations he sent sensitive government information to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The scandal has rocked the royal family led by King Charles III, though William and Kate remain popular standard-bearers for the monarchy. William is due to present an award in his role as president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Among the biggest receptions from gathered fans was for Paddington, the puppet bear who stars in a musical stage adaption of the beloved children’s classic.
Oscars bellwether
“One Battle” has 14 nominations, including best picture and acting nods for five of its cast. “Sinners” is just behind with 13, while “Hamnet” and the ping-pong odyssey “Marty Supreme” each have 11 nominations.
Guillermo del Toro’s reimagining of “Frankenstein” and Norwegian family drama ” Sentimental Value” each got eight nominations.
The British prizes, officially called the EE BAFTA Film Awards, often provide hints about who will win at Hollywood’s Academy Awards, held this year on March 15. In the Oscar nominations, “Sinners” leads the race with a record 16 nominations, followed by “One Battle After Another” with 13.
Cumming told the audience that it had been a strong year for cinema, if not a cheerful one, with nominated films tackling themes including child death, racism and political violence:
“Watching the films this year was like taking part in a collective nervous breakdown,” he said. “It’s almost as though there are events going on in the real world that are influencing filmmakers.”
The BAFTA best film nominees are “One Battle After Another,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “Sinners” and “Sentimental Value.” The BAFTAs also have a distinctly British accent, with a separate category for best British film. Its 10 nominees include “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” “Pillion,” “I Swear” and “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.”
Directing contenders are Paul Thomas Anderson for “One Battle,” Josh Safdie for “Marty Supreme,” Ryan Coogler for “Sinners,” Yorgos Lanthimos for dystopian tragicomedy “Bugonia,” Joachim Trier for “Sentimental Value” and Zhao for “Hamnet.” Zhao will be the first female director to win two BAFTAs if she takes the prize. She won the directing award in 2021 for “Nomadland.”
Best leading actor nominees are bookies’ favorite Chalamet for “Marty Supreme,” DiCaprio for “One Battle After Another,” Ethan Hawke for Broadway biopic “Blue Moon,” Michael B. Jordan for “Sinners,” Jesse Plemons for “Bugonia” and Robert Aramayo for playing an advocate for people with Tourette’s syndrome in biographical drama “I Swear.”
The leading actress category includes the strongly favored Jessie Buckley for her performance as Agnes Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare, in “Hamnet.” She’s up against Rose Byrne for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” Kate Hudson for “Song Sung Blue,” Chase Infiniti for “One Battle After Another,” Renate Reinsve for “Sentimental Value” and Emma Stone for “Bugonia.”
“One Battle” actors Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn are all nominated for supporting performances.
AP gets documentary nod
The Associated Press was recognized in the best documentary category with a nomination for Mstyslav Chernov’s harrowing Ukraine war portrait “2000 Meters to Andriivka, ” co-produced by the AP and Frontline PBS.
Most BAFTA winners are chosen by 8,500 members of the UK academy of industry professionals. Contenders for the Rising Star award — the only prize decided by public vote and a reliable picker of future A-listers — are Infiniti, Aramayo, “Sinners” star Miles Caton and British actors Archie Madekwe and Posy Sterling.
Donna Langley, the UK-born chairwoman of NBCUniversal Entertainment, will be awarded the British Academy’s highest honor, the BAFTA fellowship.
The ceremony airs on BBC in the United Kingdom starting at 7 p.m. (1900 GMT) and on E! in the US at 8 p.m. EST.
