“A extradition is politically motivated. The statute under which Julian is accused, the Espionage Act, is political. It needs a political solution,” said Stella Assange during a press conference in London, days before what is considered the final hearing of the appeal process to avoid extradition to the United States of America (USA).
On Wednesday, with the support of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the Australian parliament approved a motion calling for the end of the case against Assange so that he can return to his family in Australia.
Albanese and the Australian Attorney General have also taken steps with the North American authorities to have the case closed, as revealed by Stella Assange at the press conference in the British capital.
“Australia is an extremely strategic ally for the United States. And its position has to mean something. I hope that these efforts continue and that Julian succeeds, in time, because it is a race against time”, he stressed.
The 53-year-old Australian is accused by US authorities of having published more than 700,000 confidential documents about US military and diplomatic activities, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, from 2010 onwards.
Detained by British police in 2019, after seven years hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges, Assange has been incarcerated for four years in the high-security Belmarsh prison, in east London.
The British Government approved his extradition in June 2022, but Julian Assange appealed.
Two magistrates will review next week, Tuesday and Wednesday, the previous decision, taken by a single judge on June 6, and deliberate on whether Julian Assange can appeal.
If the appeal request is refused, all legal avenues in the British judicial system will be exhausted and the Australian will be extradited or may appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
Julian Assange is subject to a maximum of 175 years in prison in the United States, which, for Rebecca Vincent, campaign director at Reporters Without Borders (RSF), is “absurd.”
“We must remember that he is not the author of the information leak. The informant, Chelsea Manning, has already served seven years in prison. President Obama [ex-chefe de Estado norte-americano, entre janeiro de 2009 e janeiro de 2017] commuted her sentence, stating that the 35 years to which she had been sentenced were disproportionate compared to other cases”, stressed the representative at the same press conference in London.
Vincent suggested that a possible solution could involve the release of Julian Assange given that he is already in prison.
“If the United States Government is not willing to back down from the principles underlying this case, if it is not willing to drop the charges entirely and release him properly, there is a possible solution to consider that he has already served his sentence and release do it now, with no more time to do it”, he said.
The RSF organization has expressed support for Assange because it considers that the US accusation for allegedly obtaining and disclosing confidential military documents can be used against any journalist.
“His conviction will pave the way for similar legal action against others who publish stories based on leaked confidential information, setting a dangerous precedent for journalism. This could put many media organizations and journalists at risk and create a deterrent effect on reporting of information of public interest”, said the organization in a statement.
Amnesty International also believes that the charges are politically motivated and that it is wrong to charge a journalist under the US Espionage Act of 1917, “a wartime legislation that was never intended to attack the legitimate work” of media professionals. Social.
The UN special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, stressed that Assange is “at risk of being placed in prolonged isolation, despite his precarious state of mental health” and invoked the “United Kingdom’s international duties in matters of human rights”.
“The diplomatic assurances provided by the United States Government that Assange will be treated humanely are not sufficient,” he said earlier this month.
[Notícia atualizada às 14h28]
Read Also: Australian Parliament calls for Assange’s release. “Complete process”
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2502432/mulher-de-assange-defende-solucao-politica-que-impeca-extradicao-para-eua
