LONDON
Stella Assange, the wife of Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks website, has expressed optimism over his potential release during a hearing scheduled for Monday in the UK.
Speaking to Anadolu this week ahead of the hearing in London, she addressed the challenges her husband faces in Belmarsh Prison, where he has spent more than five years following his arrest in April 2019.
“Well, we’re five days away from the decisive hearing, so he’s under a lot of pressure. He’s having trouble sleeping. There’s a lot going on with phone calls and also a lot playing on his mind. But there is the possibility of his release as well. So we try to focus on the positives,” she said.
“If Julian loses this round, then the UK will move to extradite him. There will be no further avenues for appeal here in the UK. We will obviously go to the European Court of Human Rights and attempt to get an order stopping the extradition, and if that order is given, then the UK has to comply.”
Regarding the extradition efforts, Assange underscored Australia’s involvement, as Julian is an Australian citizen.
“Australia has been seeking a resolution because this is a political case. Julian has been imprisoned for over five years, even though he’s not serving a sentence. There’s no conviction. This whole case is highly embarrassing and unusual to both the UK and the US. So they have every reason to drop it or to find a solution in which Julian is released as soon as possible,” she said.
She reiterated the importance of Assange’s case for press freedom worldwide, saying that if the US and the UK imprison journalists, there will be no one left to uphold standards and journalistic freedom will suffer.
Assange’s legal battle dates back to WikiLeaks’ publication of 251,000 classified documents in 2010.
Following his arrest in April 2019, he has faced extradition requests from the US.
The UK High Court ruled in December 2021 in favor of extradition, with the Home Secretary approving it in June 2022. However, Assange’s legal team appealed to the High Court and hearings were held in February 2023, with a delayed verdict pending.
In March 2024, the court ruled that Assange would not be extradited to the US unless certain assurances were provided by the US government.
These assurances include no death penalty and a fair trial.
While the US announced in April that it would provide the requested assurances, Stella Assange said her husband, not being a US citizen, might not have certain rights.
Assange’s lawyers and supporters point out that he could face up to 175 years in prison if extradited to the US, while the US side claims that the prison sentence could be four to six years.
Assange’s extradition case will be heard in the High Court in London on May 20.
