QUITO, April 11 Statement by US President Joe Biden on the possibility The closure of the case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may be due to great social and international pressure, said the journalist's lawyer Carlos Poveda.
US President Joe Biden said he is considering Australia's request to close the case against Assange.
«Perhaps (this statement) stems from great social pressure, global mobilization (in support of Assange — ed) and, in addition, a country defending freedoms and accusing the journalist of freedom of expression — perhaps this is the reason» , — he said.
Pressure from Australia, which protects its citizen, could also have an impact.
The lawyer also said that, according to his information, the United States has not yet provided the guarantees requested by the London court for Assange.
The Australian Parliament in February supported a bill demanding an end to the prosecution of Assange, and the country's Prime Minister expressed support for the initiative. At the end of March, the High Court in London, which considered the US extradition request, ruled in favor of Assange. The court gave the US government three weeks to provide sufficient assurances that, in a trial in the United States, the journalist will be able to rely on the First Amendment of the US Constitution (which protects freedom of speech), and that he will not be disadvantaged in the trial because of his citizenship and will not be sentenced to death. If these guarantees are not provided, Assange will be granted leave to appeal. If guarantees are provided, the court will again hear both sides of the case.
Australian journalist Assange gained fame in 2006 in connection with his work on the WikiLeaks website, founded for the publication of secret documents. In 2010, the site made public secret video footage of the US military, which showed how at least 18 civilians were killed after an attack on a US helicopter in Baghdad in 2007. In 2010, the site also began publishing 250 thousand American diplomatic documents.
Assange has been hiding since June 2012 in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, fearing extradition. On the morning of April 11, 2019, he was detained at the request of the United States after being expelled from the embassy, after which he was placed in Belmarsh Prison in London.
In June 2022, then British Home Secretary Priti Patel approved the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder to the United States after consideration of the case by Westminster Magistrates' Court and the High Court in London. British courts did not consider that Assange's extradition would be oppressive or unfair.
In June 2023, Assange filed a final appeal to the high court in London in an attempt to challenge the decision of Judge Jonathan Swift, who rejected on all eight counts the appeal by the journalist's lawyers against the order for his extradition.