As Assange’s fate has again become a political decision, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has launched a new global campaign #FreeAssange petition, urging supporters to sign before May 18, to call on the UK Home Secretary to protect journalism and press freedom by rejecting Assange’s extradition to the US and ensuring his release without further delay.
On April 20, the Westminster Magistrates’ Court signed an order confirming the alarming next step in the more than decade-long case against Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange. Following more than two years of extradition proceedings in UK courts, Assange’s fate has once again become a political decision for the Home Secretary – the very office that made the political decision to green-light the US extradition request in 2019.
If extradited to the United States, he is facing upto 175 years in prison for publishing hundreds of thousands of leaked classified files exposing war crimes and human rights violations (including cases of torture, abductions and enforced disappearances).
Assange’s legal defence team now has four weeks to make representations, meaning that after 18 May, Home Secretary Priti Patel could approve or reject the extradition order at any time.
“The next four weeks will prove crucial in the fight to block extradition and secure the release of Julian Assange. Through this petition, we are seeking to unite those who care about journalism and press freedom to hold the UK government to account. The Home Secretary must act now to protect journalism and adhere to the UK’s commitment to media freedom by rejecting the extradition order and releasing Assange,” said RSF’s Director of Operations and Campaigns Rebecca Vincent, who monitored proceedings on RSF’s behalf.
Patel’s predecessor, former Home Secretary Sajid Javid initially green-lighted the extradition request in June 2019, initiating more than two years of proceedings in UK courts. This resulted in a district court decision barring extradition on mental health grounds in January 2021; a High Court decision overturning that ruling in December 2021; and finally, refusal by the Supreme Court to consider the case in March 2022.
RSF’s prior petition calling on the UK government not to comply with the US extradition request gathered more than 90,000 signatures (108,000 including additional signatures on a German version of the petition), and was delivered to Downing Street, the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office ahead of the historic 4 January 2021 first-instance decision in the case. Meanwhile, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has renewed its call for the U.S. Justice Department to drop its charges and cease its dogged pursuit of Assange.
