A U.K. court has ruled that Julian Assange will not be immediately extradited to face charges in the United States, giving the U.S. government three weeks to “offer assurances” that the American justice system will abide by several specific tenets in its handling of the WikiLeaks founder’s case.
The British court said Assange “has a real prospect of success on 3 of the 9 grounds of appeal” he has argued. Specifically, the court demanded that U.S. justice officials confirm he will be “permitted to rely on the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (which protects free speech), that he is not prejudiced at trial (including sentence) by reason of his nationality, that he is afforded the same First Amendment protections as a United States citizen and that the death penalty is not imposed.”
The court said that if those U.S. government assurances are not given within the three week timeframe, Assange will be granted leave appeal in the U.K.
If the assurances are given, there will be another U.K. court hearing on May 20 to make a final decision on granting Assange leave to appeal.
“Mr. Assange will not, therefore, be extradited immediately,” the court said in its judgment on Tuesday.
This is the final appeal option available to Assange in U.K. courts.
He can, however, if the appeals process in the U.K. is exhausted, file an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights to consider his case.
That court could order the U.K. not to extradite him as it deliberates.
An appeal to the European Court of Human Rights would be Assange’s final option to try to prevent his extradition to the U.S.
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