- The Washington Times - Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is reportedly seeking to head off extradition to the United States by demanding prosecutors unseal any evidence they have against him.

Mr. Assange’s attorneys filed an urgent application with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, an organization that hears appeals on human rights cases in the Americas, the Guardian reported Wednesday.

The 1,172-page submission by Mr. Assange’s lawyers demands the U.S. unseal any secret charge against him and urges Ecuador to cease “espionage activities” against him, the report said.

The document also says U.S. prosecutors have approached some people associated with WikiLeaks’ joint publications and offered immunity in exchange for testimony against Mr. Assange.

The document also alleges that U.S. prosecutors have begun approaching people, including some associated with WikiLeaks’ joint publications with other media about American foreign policy, throughout Europe to offer immunity in return to testify against Assange.

Mr. Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012, to avoid extradition to Sweden over a rape investigation.

Although Swedish prosecutors have dropped their extradition request, a court filing last year suggested that U.S. prosecutors have filed sealed charges against Mr. Assange.

Wikileaks has also been a focus of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion with members of the Trump campaign.

Mr. Assange’s lawyers rejected a deal in December that would have allowed him to leave the Ecuadoran embassy without being extradited for charges in other countries.

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.

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