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posted by janrinok on Monday January 04 2021, @01:17PM   Printer-friendly

A UK judge has just announced that Assange cannot be extradited to the USA because his treatment by the US would cause him to be a suicide risk. However, he is not released as the prosecution and the USA may decide to appeal. He remains in Belmarsh prison but the courts still have to decide whether he should be released.

The political arguments were all dismissed by the Judge but her decision is based solely on the treatment he will receive in the USA.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-55528241

Also:

The UK Westminster Magistrates' Court decision is now public, Wikileaks journalist Julian Assange will not be extradited from the UK to the US...

407. The defence complains that the late service of the second superseding indictment has resulted in unfairness in the preparation of its case. Mindful of any potential unfairness flowing from the late service of this amended indictment, on Friday 14 August 2020, I invited the defence to consider applying to adjourn the evidential hearing which was due to commence on 7 September 2020. I gave them the opportunity to consider this invitation over the course of a week but, on 21 August 2020, the defence confirmed that itwould not be seeking to adjourn proceedings. No further applications were made between that date and 7 September 2020.

408. In my judgment the appropriate remedy for any unfairness arising from the late indictment would have been to allow the defence sufficient time prepare its case and advance any relevant arguments. That time was offered in August 2020 and declined.

409. I reject the defence submissions concerning staying extradition as an abuse of the process of this court.

https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/USA-v-Assange-judgment-040121.pdf

... unless the decision is appealed by either the outgoing US administration or the incoming one.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by ledow on Monday January 04 2021, @04:25PM (2 children)

    by ledow (5567) on Monday January 04 2021, @04:25PM (#1094519) Homepage

    I think you're missing the next logical step:

    If Assange is so at-risk of suicide that he cannot be extradited, that's not going to magically cure itself if he's released (and bail is unlikely given his previous twattery).

    If anything, if he's that at-risk, an argument could be made that he should be committed to an institution for his own safety. Courts are perfectly able to order such. And either you're healthy/stable enough to be extradited (i.e. take a plane flight) or you're not. There's little in-between wiggle room.

    If Assange and his lawyers aren't careful, he could well end up being "sectioned" into a secure mental health facility.

    (And guess what... when he re-emerges... the extradition actions can be brought again...)

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 04 2021, @10:39PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 04 2021, @10:39PM (#1094710)

    There's little in-between wiggle room

    There's always in-between wiggle room, except for the people who purposefully want to view the world in black and white.

    • (Score: 2) by ledow on Wednesday January 06 2021, @10:47AM

      by ledow (5567) on Wednesday January 06 2021, @10:47AM (#1095563) Homepage

      I said little.

      And what wiggle-room is there between "If I'm extradited I might top myself" and "I'm perfectly fine and should be let out of jail without consequence"? Vanishingly small.

      There's no way a court is going to release someone who can't stand trial because they're at risk of suicide without some kind of monitoring.

      And there's no way they'll accept that such monitoring isn't necessary without also considering that the same person isn't then perfectly fit to stand trial.

      Just sheer liability, in the face of intense public scrutiny, for a start.