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| WikiLeaks founder is fighting his extradition to the United States |
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (Julian Assange) fought extradition to the United States this week after failing to postpone Monday's hearing.
The United States asked Assange to release hundreds of thousands of classified documents in 2010 and 2011. The trial began in February but was postponed due to the Coronavirus.
The US Department of Justice issued a new indictment in June accusing Assange of conspiring with members of the piracy organization and attempting to recruit pirates at conferences in Europe and Asia. These hackers can provide WikiLeaks with confidential information.
The WikiLeaks founder's attorney believes the latest indictment is too late for his team to review it and respond properly.
Assange's health deteriorated as he was imprisoned in a UK prison and spoke through a glass box during the meeting. He is currently charged with 18 counts, 17 of which are under US espionage law.
The United States accused him of conspiring with intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to break the password to gain access to the secret Pentagon computer and divulge military secrets.
If the 49-year-old Australian is extradited to the United States, he faces up to 175 years in prison.
Supporters of Assange believe he was targeted by the United States for political reasons, after WikiLeaks revealed suspected war crimes and human rights violations.
The session was supposed to last four weeks. Dozens of witnesses are expected to testify and a final judgment will be issued in the future.
Supporters of Assange gathered outside the court to protest his extradition, saying: Julian is an editor and a journalist. It is about suppressing freedom of the press throughout the Western world. It cannot be maintained. It must stop now.
"If this extradition is allowed, it is clear that as long as the work of journalists disrupts the US government, they are in danger," said Michael Stanestreet, Secretary General of the National Union of British and Irish Journalists.
"If Assange is forced to confront these allegations by order of the US president, media freedom around the world will be shocked. This case provides the British government with an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to freedom. Expression." ".
Assange was arrested in April 2019 at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for breaching bail and has since been held in Belmarsh high security prison in South East London.
Assange's partner said: If he was extradited to the United States for publishing disturbing facts about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this would set a precedent and any British journalist or editor could be extradited to the United States as well. .