٠٠:٠٣:٤٦Stella Assange said her husband was 'relieved' but had been 'under a lot of stress' as London's High Court granted him the right to appeal the US extradition, speaking exclusively to the agency on Monday.
"He didn't sleep last night," she admitted. "He wasn't able to come to court, so he heard about the process from a distance. He has not left Belmarsh prison since January 2021, he's been there continuously, and his health has deteriorated greatly and of course, the pressure that he's under puts him at greater risk of, puts his health at grave risk when there are decisions like this that can have such a massive impact on what's going to happen."
"So he was relieved, but at the same time he's not free. He's still in prison, where he's been for over five years," she continued.
Stella also said it 'could mark the beginning of the end in terms of Julian's freedom'.
"I think that the case as it now stands goes to the very heart of what Julian is being accused of, which is publishing truthfully and exposing wrongdoing and whether or not he will be able to even mount a defence as a journalist, or be discriminated against," she added.
She also described it as a 'golden moment' for the Biden administration to drop the case. Earlier this year, the US president told reporters on camera that an Australian plea to do so was being 'considered'. Media outlets also reported that the US could be considering a plea deal.
"If Julian were to win [on the appeal], the US could try to appeal, but the Supreme Court could say 'we don't want to hear it', so we simply don't know," she said.
"There is a significant chance that Julian could win and the Biden administration could just look at the case and say, well, you know that that should be it, given that they could lose a few months from now, now is the moment to drop it," she added.
The ruling granted the Wikileaks founder permission for a full appeal.
It came after judges had called on Washington to provide 'assurances' that he would have his free speech protected under the first amendment, that his Australian nationality would not count against him and that he would not receive the death penalty.
Assange's team accepted the third assurance, with the appeal now centred on the other two grounds.
Julian Assange has been detained in London's high-security Belmarsh prison since 2019, facing extradition to the US on 18 charges related to the release of classified documents. He was granted political asylum by Ecuador in London in 2012 but was dragged from the embassy by UK police and arrested in 2019.
'Julian was relieved' but case puts his 'health at grave risk'- Stella Assange as WikiLeaks founder wins right to appeal US extradition
Stella Assange said her husband was 'relieved' but had been 'under a lot of stress' as London's High Court granted him the right to appeal the US extradition, speaking exclusively to the agency on Monday.
"He didn't sleep last night," she admitted. "He wasn't able to come to court, so he heard about the process from a distance. He has not left Belmarsh prison since January 2021, he's been there continuously, and his health has deteriorated greatly and of course, the pressure that he's under puts him at greater risk of, puts his health at grave risk when there are decisions like this that can have such a massive impact on what's going to happen."
"So he was relieved, but at the same time he's not free. He's still in prison, where he's been for over five years," she continued.
Stella also said it 'could mark the beginning of the end in terms of Julian's freedom'.
"I think that the case as it now stands goes to the very heart of what Julian is being accused of, which is publishing truthfully and exposing wrongdoing and whether or not he will be able to even mount a defence as a journalist, or be discriminated against," she added.
She also described it as a 'golden moment' for the Biden administration to drop the case. Earlier this year, the US president told reporters on camera that an Australian plea to do so was being 'considered'. Media outlets also reported that the US could be considering a plea deal.
"If Julian were to win [on the appeal], the US could try to appeal, but the Supreme Court could say 'we don't want to hear it', so we simply don't know," she said.
"There is a significant chance that Julian could win and the Biden administration could just look at the case and say, well, you know that that should be it, given that they could lose a few months from now, now is the moment to drop it," she added.
The ruling granted the Wikileaks founder permission for a full appeal.
It came after judges had called on Washington to provide 'assurances' that he would have his free speech protected under the first amendment, that his Australian nationality would not count against him and that he would not receive the death penalty.
Assange's team accepted the third assurance, with the appeal now centred on the other two grounds.
Julian Assange has been detained in London's high-security Belmarsh prison since 2019, facing extradition to the US on 18 charges related to the release of classified documents. He was granted political asylum by Ecuador in London in 2012 but was dragged from the embassy by UK police and arrested in 2019.
Stella Assange said her husband was 'relieved' but had been 'under a lot of stress' as London's High Court granted him the right to appeal the US extradition, speaking exclusively to the agency on Monday.
"He didn't sleep last night," she admitted. "He wasn't able to come to court, so he heard about the process from a distance. He has not left Belmarsh prison since January 2021, he's been there continuously, and his health has deteriorated greatly and of course, the pressure that he's under puts him at greater risk of, puts his health at grave risk when there are decisions like this that can have such a massive impact on what's going to happen."
"So he was relieved, but at the same time he's not free. He's still in prison, where he's been for over five years," she continued.
Stella also said it 'could mark the beginning of the end in terms of Julian's freedom'.
"I think that the case as it now stands goes to the very heart of what Julian is being accused of, which is publishing truthfully and exposing wrongdoing and whether or not he will be able to even mount a defence as a journalist, or be discriminated against," she added.
She also described it as a 'golden moment' for the Biden administration to drop the case. Earlier this year, the US president told reporters on camera that an Australian plea to do so was being 'considered'. Media outlets also reported that the US could be considering a plea deal.
"If Julian were to win [on the appeal], the US could try to appeal, but the Supreme Court could say 'we don't want to hear it', so we simply don't know," she said.
"There is a significant chance that Julian could win and the Biden administration could just look at the case and say, well, you know that that should be it, given that they could lose a few months from now, now is the moment to drop it," she added.
The ruling granted the Wikileaks founder permission for a full appeal.
It came after judges had called on Washington to provide 'assurances' that he would have his free speech protected under the first amendment, that his Australian nationality would not count against him and that he would not receive the death penalty.
Assange's team accepted the third assurance, with the appeal now centred on the other two grounds.
Julian Assange has been detained in London's high-security Belmarsh prison since 2019, facing extradition to the US on 18 charges related to the release of classified documents. He was granted political asylum by Ecuador in London in 2012 but was dragged from the embassy by UK police and arrested in 2019.