UK Home Secretary approves extradition of Assange to US

 

The Wikileaks founder faces 175 years in prison

Julian Assange © Jack Taylor / Getty Images

The extradition of WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange to the US moved a step forward on Friday after British Home Secretary Priti Patel gave the green light to hand the transparency activist over to American custody.

WikiLeaks called the development a “dark day for Press freedom and for British democracy,” and added that “the decision will be appealed.”

Previously, a British court had refused the extradition request on the grounds that Assange may otherwise kill himself or be subjected to inhumane treatment in US detention. But the US successfully appealed the ruling, offering Britain assurances that his rights would be observed.

Supporters of the jailed activist say he is being persecuted for exposing the American government's dark secrets and that his demise was meant as a chilling warning to any journalist who would think of doing the same.

“It was [in] Priti Patel’s power to do the right thing. Instead she will forever be remembered as an accomplice of the United States in its agenda to turn investigative journalism into a criminal enterprise,” WikiLeaks said in a statement.

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Edward Snowden

@Snowden

Hard to believe, but it looks real. Every serious press freedom group in the world has protested this. It is an appalling symbol of how far the British and American governments' commitment to human rights has declined. How can we condemn authoritarian abuses abroad like this?