Assange back in court, fears closed-door trial and U.S. extradition
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is back in court today for extradition hearings that could see him sent to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault. Assange’s lawyers — who have already expressed concerns about extradition to the United States and the alleged threat of illegal rendition there — were today crying foul that Assange could ...
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is back in court today for extradition hearings that could see him sent to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault. Assange's lawyers -- who have already expressed concerns about extradition to the United States and the alleged threat of illegal rendition there -- were today crying foul that Assange could face a closed-door trial if returned to Sweden. (Crimes involving sexual misconduct or minors are often closed to the public for privacy reasons.) For a self-proclaimed transparency revolutionary, such secrecy does seem the ultimate punishment.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is back in court today for extradition hearings that could see him sent to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault. Assange’s lawyers — who have already expressed concerns about extradition to the United States and the alleged threat of illegal rendition there — were today crying foul that Assange could face a closed-door trial if returned to Sweden. (Crimes involving sexual misconduct or minors are often closed to the public for privacy reasons.) For a self-proclaimed transparency revolutionary, such secrecy does seem the ultimate punishment.
But what strikes me about the ongoing hearings is the idea — insinuated in Assange’s defense — that Britain and Sweden are buying time for the United States, which is presumably still working to build a case against the WikiLeaks founder. Assange’s legal team has expressed repeated concern about his extradition to the United States — not from Britain but from Sweden, despite the fact that both countries have extradition agreements with the United States. (In fact, it appears to my very untrained legal eye that the British-U.S. extradition agreement, signed in 2003, is very favorable toward allowing extradition; the burden of proof is virtually nil for the country requesting the extradition.)
In the meantime, all this buying time on both sides seems like it might actually be useful to Assange, who is passing his days in a mansion just outside London — probably a much more conducive work environment than being on the run. If the productivity of the WikiLeaks site is any indication, that’s true: The pace of cables being released picked up over the weekend.
Elizabeth Dickinson is International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Colombia.
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