ASSANGE HEARING DAY FOUR: Hearing Adjourned to Monday While Lawyer Who Was
in Court is Tested for Covid-19
September 10, 2020
Case is postponed until Monday while a lawyer who appeared in court is
tested for Covid-19.
Old Bailey (Wikimedia Commons)
Hearing is Adjourned Until Monday While
Lawyer in Court is Tested for Covid-19
6:24 am EDT: Judge Vanessa Baraitser has adjourned the hearing of Julian
Assange until next Monday while a Covid-19 test result is awaited for a
lawyer who appeared in the courtroom on Wednesday. Edward Fitzgerald, a
lawyer for the defense, told the court:
"We shouldn't be here. Covid could be here in this courtroom. The staff and
you yourself [addressing Baraitser] may be at risk, and finally our client
whose vulnerabilities you are aware of, would be at risk.
"Until we have a result we could make this remote, but you are aware of the
technical difficulties and you have said the hearing" should be held in
court," Fitzgerald said. "It would not be fair if our client is not
present."
Fitzgerald said, "We don't think it is possible to go ahead until we have a
result" of the test from the attorney who was in the courtroom on Wednesday.
James Lewis, speaking for the prosecution via video-link from his London
flat, agreed with Fitzgerald.
He said: "We agree it would be best if we adjourned until Monday to know
whether or not the test is positive. It would be highly unsatisfactory by
tomorrow" to conduct the hearing remotely, he said. "It's not easy to cross
examine someone by video link. We have layers of technical difficulties. All
I can see now is the back of Mr. Fitzgerald's jacket frozen on the screen.
It is unsatisfactory to deal with him that way."
Baraitser said after hearing from both sides that she'd agree to an
adjournment until Monday, but reserved the right to continue the hearing via
remote access, despite Fitzgerald's and Lewis' concerns. The judge said the
test would take place on Thursday and the result would be known on Friday.
Please Contribute to Consortium News'
25th Anniversary Fall Fund Drive
5:58 am EDT: Court News UK is reporting that the husband of one of the U.S.
lawyers in court has "Covid-like symptoms" and Judge Vanessa Baraitser will
determine how to proceed after he is tested. Monitoring the video of court,
we heard prosecutor James Lewis say he was in his flat. He said he couldn't
get home last night, and is apparently not at home to self-isolate,
Baraitser herself has appeared in the courtroom.
5 am EDT: The start of the fourth day of the resumption of Julian Assange's
extradition has been delayed. Assange's defense team have slated only one
witness on Thursday, American lawyer Eric Lewis, who wrote this piece last
year in The Independent saying he did not want to see Assange extradited to
his country.
