UK demands halting Julian Assange’s extradition to US

Parliamentarians from the United Kingdom wrote to US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to request a halt in the extradition process of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The British representatives of at least six parties recalled that Assange disseminated “information with evidence” related to “crimes against humanity, corruption and human rights abuses” committed by the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The journalist, whose extradition to the US is pending, faces 18 crimes of espionage and computer intrusion, and has been held in the maximum security prison of Belmarsh, southeast of London, since April 11, 2019, when Ecuador withdrew his political asylum.

Similarly, they warned that the surrender of an award-winning reporter and editor “would have a chilling impact on journalism and set a dangerous precedent for other media professionals and organizations.”

It would also undermine the reputation of the United States regarding the rule of law and freedom of expression, as enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.