British judge OKs Assange extradition to Sweden
A British judge has authorized WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition to Sweden on rape charges. From the Australian: The Australian founder of the WikiLeaks website instantly appealed to the British High Court against last night’s verdict in the Belmarsh Magistrates Court, but Judge Howard Riddell had earlier made it clear he had no doubt about ...
A British judge has authorized WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's extradition to Sweden on rape charges. From the Australian:
A British judge has authorized WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition to Sweden on rape charges. From the Australian:
The Australian founder of the WikiLeaks website instantly appealed to the British High Court against last night’s verdict in the Belmarsh Magistrates Court, but Judge Howard Riddell had earlier made it clear he had no doubt about the validity of Sweden’s extradition case.
Mr Assange had faced being extradited within 10 days and held in jail in Stockholm with no possibility of bail but his barrister, Geoffrey Robertson QC, signalled an appeal process that could take many months.
The New York Times has the text of the ruling here. Riddell makes no explicit mention of the broader context of the case, or the frequent claims by Assange and his lawyers that extradition on the sex assault charges is the first step toward extradicting Assange to the United States over WikiLeaks’ U.S. government document leaks. Pretty much all there is is a pro forma note on p. 26 in which Riddell says he believes neither Assange’s arrest warrant or prosecution was the result of considerations about his political opinions.
Assange’s lawyers said immediately that they planned to appeal the decision.
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