04:46Stella Assange said that US guarantees are 'not worth the paper that they are written on' while speaking at a press conference in London on Tuesday after the UK’s High Court ruled to postpone her husband, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition hearing pending 'assurances' from Washington.
“The United States is, of course, a country that has plotted to assassinate and kidnap Julian," she claimed.
Assange explained that the High Court has provisionally allowed permission to appeal in relation to the First Amendment and Article 10, which is related to freedom of expression, claiming that the British courts are 'tying themselves up in knots'.
“The case should have just been thrown out and Julian should not have spent a single day in prison. The United States is bringing a case based on a persecution of a journalist for his political opinion,” Assange said.
“The United States is going to discriminate against Julian and say he is not protected by the First Amendment due to his nationality, being Australian and thirdly, in relation to the death penalty, because the United States is able to change the charges once he is in the United States,” she continued.
Under the latest ruling, the court decided that the hearing would be adjourned until May 20, allowing the publisher to amend his grounds of appeal and pending a number of 'assurances' required from the US and UK governments.
The US government would need to provide certain guarantees that any extradition would not contravene freedom of expression, wouldn't involve any prejudice during a trial regarding Assange's nationality and would not mean the death penalty in the case of conviction.
Six other grounds for appeal were rejected. If no assurances are provided, Assange's team would be allowed to appeal, while if they are, both sides could file further submissions ahead of the next hearing.
Julian is currently in Belmarsh prison, where he has been held since being dragged from the Ecuadorian Embassy and arrested in April 2019. The extradition was approved in 2022 by then-home secretary Priti Patel. He is wanted by US authorities on 18 charges, following the release of thousands of military and diplomatic documents relating to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
'US assurances not worth the paper they are written on' - Stella Assange as London court postpones extradition hearing
Stella Assange said that US guarantees are 'not worth the paper that they are written on' while speaking at a press conference in London on Tuesday after the UK’s High Court ruled to postpone her husband, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition hearing pending 'assurances' from Washington.
“The United States is, of course, a country that has plotted to assassinate and kidnap Julian," she claimed.
Assange explained that the High Court has provisionally allowed permission to appeal in relation to the First Amendment and Article 10, which is related to freedom of expression, claiming that the British courts are 'tying themselves up in knots'.
“The case should have just been thrown out and Julian should not have spent a single day in prison. The United States is bringing a case based on a persecution of a journalist for his political opinion,” Assange said.
“The United States is going to discriminate against Julian and say he is not protected by the First Amendment due to his nationality, being Australian and thirdly, in relation to the death penalty, because the United States is able to change the charges once he is in the United States,” she continued.
Under the latest ruling, the court decided that the hearing would be adjourned until May 20, allowing the publisher to amend his grounds of appeal and pending a number of 'assurances' required from the US and UK governments.
The US government would need to provide certain guarantees that any extradition would not contravene freedom of expression, wouldn't involve any prejudice during a trial regarding Assange's nationality and would not mean the death penalty in the case of conviction.
Six other grounds for appeal were rejected. If no assurances are provided, Assange's team would be allowed to appeal, while if they are, both sides could file further submissions ahead of the next hearing.
Julian is currently in Belmarsh prison, where he has been held since being dragged from the Ecuadorian Embassy and arrested in April 2019. The extradition was approved in 2022 by then-home secretary Priti Patel. He is wanted by US authorities on 18 charges, following the release of thousands of military and diplomatic documents relating to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Stella Assange said that US guarantees are 'not worth the paper that they are written on' while speaking at a press conference in London on Tuesday after the UK’s High Court ruled to postpone her husband, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition hearing pending 'assurances' from Washington.
“The United States is, of course, a country that has plotted to assassinate and kidnap Julian," she claimed.
Assange explained that the High Court has provisionally allowed permission to appeal in relation to the First Amendment and Article 10, which is related to freedom of expression, claiming that the British courts are 'tying themselves up in knots'.
“The case should have just been thrown out and Julian should not have spent a single day in prison. The United States is bringing a case based on a persecution of a journalist for his political opinion,” Assange said.
“The United States is going to discriminate against Julian and say he is not protected by the First Amendment due to his nationality, being Australian and thirdly, in relation to the death penalty, because the United States is able to change the charges once he is in the United States,” she continued.
Under the latest ruling, the court decided that the hearing would be adjourned until May 20, allowing the publisher to amend his grounds of appeal and pending a number of 'assurances' required from the US and UK governments.
The US government would need to provide certain guarantees that any extradition would not contravene freedom of expression, wouldn't involve any prejudice during a trial regarding Assange's nationality and would not mean the death penalty in the case of conviction.
Six other grounds for appeal were rejected. If no assurances are provided, Assange's team would be allowed to appeal, while if they are, both sides could file further submissions ahead of the next hearing.
Julian is currently in Belmarsh prison, where he has been held since being dragged from the Ecuadorian Embassy and arrested in April 2019. The extradition was approved in 2022 by then-home secretary Priti Patel. He is wanted by US authorities on 18 charges, following the release of thousands of military and diplomatic documents relating to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.