Julian Assange could have a couple options if and when the WikiLeaks publisher is released from British custody and allowed to leave the U.K. after winning his extradition case this week.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tuesday that Mr. Assange, an Aussie by birth, is free to return once the appeals process is finished and his extradition case is completely over.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that he is prepared to offer asylum to Mr. Assange, meanwhile.
Ruling from London hours earlier, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser sided with Mr. Assange in the high-stakes extradition proceedings that have caused him to be imprisoned for nearly 21 months.
Mr. Assange, 49, is wanted in the U.S. for criminal charges related to running WikiLeaks, including multiple violations of the Espionage Act for releasing classified material through the site.
In her decision, the British judge said she believed Mr. Assange’s mental health would deteriorate if sent to the U.S. and determined extradited him would be oppressive and declined to do so.
The U.S. Department of Justice subsequently said it plans to challenge the judge’s ruling. In the meantime, she is slated to decide Wednesday whether to release Mr. Assange pending appeal.
Mr. Morrison, the prime minister of Mr. Assange’s native Australia, said “obviously he would be able to return to Australia like any other Australian” should the U.S. lots its appeals.
“So, yes, it’s just a straightforward process of the legal system in the U.K. working its way through,” Mr. Morrison said on Australia’s 2GB radio.
“If that all turns out, then he’s like any other Australian, he would be free to return home if he wished,” Mr. Morrison said during another radio interview aired by 3AW. “So that would be a matter for him when those proceedings and those processes end.”
Mr. Lopez Obrador said Monday that he believed Mr. Assange “deserves a chance” and that he would be asking the Mexican foreign minister to discuss the possibility of offering him asylum.
In 2012, Mr. Assange entered the Ecuadorian Embassy in London seeking asylum in lieu of surrendering to authorities and risking the possibility of being extradited to the U.S. to face charges.
Ecuador originally granted asylum to Mr. Assange and later attempted to make him a diplomat. Their relationship soured, however, and he was ejected from the embassy in April 2019 and imprisoned.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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