British High Court court allows U.S. to appeal rejection of Julian Assange extradition request

Britain’s High Court has agreed to let the Biden administration appeal a decision handed down by a lower court in January that blocked efforts by the U.S. to extradite WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.

An application to appeal has been approved by the U.K. High Court, its judicial office confirmed Wednesday, paving the way for the U.S. to make its case once again for taking custody of Mr. Assange, 50.

Oral arguments are expected to be scheduled at some point, Stella Moris, Mr. Assange’s fiancée, told reporters gathered outside the London courthouse. Future court dates have not yet been announced.

Mr. Assange, an Australian, faces multiple federal charges in the U.S., including several violations of the Espionage Act for his role in running WikiLeaks, the secret-spilling website he started in 2006. 

Specifically, prosecutors allege WikiLeaks illegally solicited, received and then released classified documents containing sensitive details about U.S. military and diplomatic operations around the world.

While the Obama administration declined to charge Mr. Assange over the disclosures, which began in 2010, the Department of Justice reversed course after former President Trump entered office in 2017.

Mr. Assange was ultimately charged by the Justice Department in 2019 and has been jailed in London ever since pending the outcome of lingering extradition proceedings extended by the appeal being approved.

Ruling six months ago from Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser denied the U.S. extradition request, saying it would be “oppressive” to send Mr. Assange to the U.S.

“The overall impression is of a depressed and sometimes despairing man, who is genuinely fearful about his future,” she wrote in her ruling. “or all of these reasons I find that Mr. Assange’s risk of committing suicide, if an extradition order were to be made, to be substantial.

The Justice Department appealed that ruling during the last days of the Trump administration, however, and is continuing the government’s pursuit of Mr. Assange with President Biden in the White House.

Ms. Moris, Mr. Assange’s fiancée, said the High Court decided it will allow “limited permission” for the U.S. government to appeal the magistrate judge’s decision to block Julian’s extradition.

“That means that he’s still at risk of extradition, where he faces 175-year prison sentence and, according to the magistrate, is certain to lose his life if he’s extradited,” said Ms. Moris.

“The only way to end this purgatory, this endless torture that has been going on for over a decade, is to just drop this,” she added. “The Biden administration has to do the right thing and end this now.”