A hearing for WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange to appeal his extradition to the US will be held next month on July 9 and July 10, British court officials announced on Tuesday.
Assange, an Australian citizen, has been granted the chance to appeal his extradition on the grounds that he may not have the same First Amendment protections as an American citizen.
Assange faces up to 175 years in prison and has been indicted with 17 counts under the Espionage Act and one charge for conspiracy to commit a computer intrusion for obtaining and publishing documents from a source, a standard journalistic practice. If he is convicted, it would have grave implications for press freedom in the US and around the world.
The charges stem from documents WikiLeaks published in 2010 and 2011 related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2019, Assange has been held in London’s Belmarsh Prison on no charges as his legal team has fought the extradition, and his health has been deteriorating. Family members fear extradition would mean his death.
WikiLeaks has been asking Americans to put pressure on the Biden administration to stop its pursuit of Assange by contacting their House representatives and telling them to support H.Res.934, a bill introduced by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) that calls for the US to drop the charges against Assange.
Last week, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-NY) became the 12th cosponsor of the legislation, demonstrating that the pressure is working.
Click here to find your representative, or call the House switchboard operator at (202) 224-3121. Click here to send an email to your representative. Tell them to support the resolution to protect the First Amendment and press freedom.
