Assange wins temporary reprieve over extradition to the US

Julian Assange has been handed a reprieve in his fight against extradition to the US after two judges ruled that the WikiLeaks founder could take his case to an appeal hearing but only if the Biden administration is unable to provide the court with suitable assurances.

- Haroon Siddique

The president of the King's Bench division, Victoria Sharp, and Mr Justice Johnson said Assange had real prospects of success on three of the nine grounds argued, but adjourned the leave to appeal application to give the US government three weeks to allay their concerns on the relevant matters.

If Assange had been denied permission to appeal he could have been extradited within days to face espionage charges. While the judges' decision means he avoids that fate, it leaves him facing a further wait, with his future still unresolved.

In a written judgment, handed down yesterday, Sharp said the concerns that could likely succeed at appeal but which "may be capable of being addressed by assurances" were "that the applicant [Assange] is permitted to rely on the first amendment, that the applicant is not prejudiced at trial, including sentence, by reason of his nationality, that he is afforded the same first amendment protections as a United States citizen, and that the death penalty is not imposed".

At a two-day hearing last month, Assange's lawyers argued he faced a "flagrant denial of justice" if prosecuted on charges relating to the publication of thousands of classified and diplomatic documents they said had exposed torture, rendition, extrajudicial killings and war crimes.