Final UK appeal date set for Assange

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The UK High Court has confirmed that Julian Assange’s final opportunity to appeal his extradition to the United States will take place as a public hearing on 20 and 21 February 2024.

Julian’s two-day hearing will be held before a panel of two judges who will review an earlier UK High Court decision taken by a single judge on 6 June 2023 which refused Julian Assange permission to appeal.

“The hearing will determine whether Julian will have further opportunities to argue his case before the UK courts, or whether he will be extradited to the United States to face charges under the 1917 US Espionage Act,” said Assange Campaign representative, Jodie Sard.

“This may be the final chance to prevent Julian’s extradition to the United States. If extradited, Julian faces a sentence of 175 years for exposing war crimes committed by the United States in the Afghan and Iraq wars,” Sard said.

“We stand with Julian’s family at this challenging and critical juncture,” she said.

Stella Assange, Julian’s wife has said, “The last four and a half years have taken the most considerable toll on Julian and his family, including our two young sons. His mental health and physical state have deteriorated significantly. With the myriad of evidence that has come to light since the original hearing in 2019, such as the violation of legal privilege and reports that senior US officials were involved in formulating assassination plots against my husband, there is no denying that a fair trial, let alone Julian’s safety on US soil, is an impossibility were he to be extradited. The persecution of this innocent journalist and publisher must end.”

Julian’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, said, “This hearing signals a crucial stage in Julian’s battle for justice and is the end of the line in the UK courts. This Christmas will be Julian’s 5th in a UK prison. He has gone through years of uncertainty, his mental and physical health getting worse and worse. He should be able to come home to Australia with his children and get the support he needs. I urge the Prime Minister to pull out all the stops in his efforts to end Julian’s suffering. Bring Julian home.”

According to the Assange Australian Campaign, Australians have tirelessly supported the campaign calling for the US to drop the charges and release Julian. “Together we have built an environment in Australia where more than 70 Australian Federal politicians have publicly called on the US to drop the extradition. And, in the United States, the number of Congressional representatives calling for Julian’s case to be dropped grows steadily; currently, H.Res.934 sponsored by Paul Gosar is gathering signatures from all sides of the House in Washington DC.

“We need everyone to fight for justice for Julian and protect press freedom. Will you join us once again?”

What you can do

1. If you can, chip into the fighting fund.

2. If you are in the Australia, join actions around the country, meet your MP and add your signature to the petition to US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy.

3. MEET YOUR MP action.assangecampaign.org.au/meet-your-mp-program

4. SIGN THE PETITION action.assangecampaign.org.au/?pc=dx1

5. If you are in the UK, join the mass protest at the Royal Courts of Justice on the days of the hearing at 8:30 am: stellaassangeofficial.substack.com/p/day-x-is-here

6. If you are in the US, call your representatives to sign onto H.Res.934 and add your signature to the petition to President Biden.

CALL YOUR REP twitter.com/Stella_Assange/status/1736726270803689656

SIGN THE PETITION action.assangecampaign.org/?pc=dx1

The campaign team will provide further information about Australian-based actions

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