Judge Denies Assange Extension on Extradition Hearing
October 21, 2019
A judge at a hearing in London has denied the WikiLeaks publisher more time
to prepare his defense, while a group of Australian politicians coalesce
around a demand to return Julian Assange home.
By Joe Lauria
Special to Consortium News
The judge in Julian Assanges extradition process on Monday denied his
lawyers appeal for more time to prepare his case as the imprisoned
WikiLeaks publisher weakly told the court he was unable to research
anything in the conditions under which he is being held in high-security
Belmarsh Prison.
Assange appeared in person at Westminster Magistrates Court in London
Monday morning for a case management hearing on the request by the United
States for Assange to be sent to Virginia to face 18 charges, including
allegedly violating the U.S. Espionage Act for possessing and disseminating
classified information that revealed prima facie evidence of U.S. war
crimes.
Mark Summers, Assanges lawyer, told the court the charges were a political
attempt by the U.S. to signal to journalists the consequences of
publishing information. The Espionage Act indictment against Assange by the
Trump Administration is the first time a journalist has been charged under
the 1917 Act for publishing classified material.
It is legally unprecedented, Summers told Judge Vanessa Baraitser. He
argued that President Donald Trump was politically motivated by the 2020
election to pursue Assange.
Summers also argued before Baraitser that the U.S. has been actively
engaged in intruding into privileged discussions between Assange and his
lawyers. It was revealed this month that the Central Intelligence Agency
was given access to surveillance video shot by a private Spanish company of
all interactions Assange had with lawyers, doctors and visitors.
This is part of an avowed war on whistleblowers to include investigative
journalists and publishers, Summers said. The American state has been
actively engaged in intruding on privileged discussions between Mr Assange
and his lawyer.
Because of this surveillance, including unlawful copying of their
telephones and computers as well as hooded men breaking into offices,
Assanges lawyers needed more time to prepare his defense, Summers argued.
But Baraitser refused the request, and ordered Assange back in court for a
second management hearing on Dec. 19. The full extradition hearing is
scheduled to begin on Feb. 25 next year.
Protestors line up at courthouse Monday morning. (Gordon Dimmack)
Not Equitable
As the hearing ended Monday, Baraitser asked Assange if he understood what
had just transpired. Not really. I cant think properly, he said.
I dont understand how this is equitable. This superpower had 10 years to
prepare for this case and I cant access my writings. Its very difficult
where I am to do anything but these people have unlimited resources. They
are saying journalists and whistleblowers are enemies of the people. They
have unfair advantages dealing with documents. They [know] the interior of
my life with my psychologist. They steal my childrens DNA. This is not
equitable what is happening here.
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The Guardian quoted WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson, as saying
that Assanges case should be thrown out because of interference with
preparing his defense. Not only is it illegal on the face of the treaty,
the U.S. has conducted illegal operations against Assange and his lawyers
which are the subject of a major investigation in Spain, Hrafnsson said.
According to witnesses in the courtroom, Assange appeared physically and
mentally enfeebled after months in isolation in prison. Tristan Kirk,
correspondent for the London Evening Standard, tweeted: Julian Assange
struggled to say his own name and date of birth as he appeared in the dock.
He claimed to have not understood what happened in the case management
hearing, and was holding back tears as he said: I cant think properly.
In response to Kirks message, Assanges mother, Christine Assange, tweeted:
This breaks my heart! They are breaking my beautiful bright, brave
journalist son, the corrupt bastards!
Supporters Outside
Assanges supporters swarmed the van in which Assange was driven away from
the courthouse back to his dreary isolation in the hospital ward at
Belmarsh.
Speaking outside the courthouse after the hearing, journalist John Pilger
called the legal assault on Assange a deliberate action of a rogue state, a
state the ignores its own laws and international law.
There were people crying in the gallery, said Assange supporter Emmy
Butlin. He is like a ghost. He could hardly talk. Hes dying.
Australian MPs Back Assange
Meanwhile in Assanges native Australia, members of Parliament have demanded
that Assange be returned to his country.
MP Andrew Wilkie told the House of Representatives last week that Assange is
an Australian citizen and must be treated like any other Australian. He was
not in the U.S. when he provided evidence of U.S. war crimes in Iraq. He
cant possibly have broken their laws.
If Assange is extradited, Wilkie said he
faces serious human rights violations including exposure to torture and a
dodgy trial. And this has serious implications for freedom of speech and
freedom of the press here in Australia, because if we allow a foreign
country to charge an Australian citizen for revealing war crimes, then no
Australian journalist or publisher can ever be confident that the same thing
wont happen to them. Put simply, he must be allowed to return to
Australia.
Wilkie, an Australian former intelligence officer who resigned because of
the falsehoods about WMD in Iraq before the 2003 invasion, is reportedly
working to set up a parliamentary committee that crosses party lines to
demand that the Liberal government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison opposes
Assanges extradition.
The Australian TV program The Project reported on Sunday that up to 10
politicians were ready to join the committee.
Its important that parliamentarians learn the facts of this matter,
Wilkie told the program. Theres so much naiveté and ignorance and
disinformation swirling around that its no wonder that a lot of people are
wary or even dislike Julian, but I reckon that when people find out the
facts of the matter they will get behind him.
This is about the right of person not to be extradited to another country
based on a whim or the politics of it. The whole thing stinks quite frankly,
I think he should be allowed to come to Australia.
Wilkie called the ability for Morrison to stand up to Trump, with whom hes
said to be close, a test for the prime minister.
Its one thing to be mates with someone, but its another thing entirely to
agree to do something which is entirely improper. I mean ScoMo is the prime
minister of Australia, hes not the vice president of the United States I
hope. And this is an opportunity for Australia to say we stand for the rule
of law and we stand behind people who stand up and speak about war crimes.
Australian politicians kowtow to the U.S. all the time without realizing
that our alliance would be even stronger if sometimes we said, No. Because
if ScoMo just rolls over on this and is happy for Julian Assange to be
extradited from Belmarsh Prison in the UK to the U.S., well that just means
Australia can be taken for granted. You actually lose leverage bizarrely by
having a really close relationship that Scott Morrison seems to have with
Donald Trump. Rather than putting Australia in a better position it can put
Australia in a weaker position because the U.S. knows it can be taken for
granted.
Wilkie joined right-wing MP Barnaby Joyce who the previous week came out in
Assanges defense. Whether you like a person or not, they should be
afforded the proper rights and protections and the process of justice,
Joyce said.
Wilkie told The Project, When someone like Barnaby Joyce thinks theres
an issue here then people should pay attention.
Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former correspondent
for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Sunday Times of London and
numerous other newspapers. He can be reached at joelauria@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
and followed on Twitter @unjoe .
