The UK’s highest court has refused to allow Julian Assange his latest appeal against extradition to the US.
The supreme court said that it had refused permission to appeal “as the application didn’t raise an arguable point of law”. The decision is a major blow to Assange’s hopes to avoid extradition.
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BBC reports: The Wikileaks founder, 50, is wanted in the US over the publication of thousands of classified documents in 2010 and 2011.
His lawyers said he had not ruled out launching a final appeal.
The case will now go back down to District Judge Vanessa Baraitser, the original judge who assessed the US’s extradition request.
Home Secretary Priti Patel is then expected to make a final decision. If she approves the extradition, that is the stage when Mr Assange could make his fresh challenge, said his lawyers Birnberg Peirce.
Mr Assange faces an 18-count indictment from the US government, accusing him of conspiring to hack into US military databases to acquire sensitive secret information relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, which was then published on the Wikileaks website.
The Wikileaks documents revealed how the US military had killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents during the war in Afghanistan, while leaked Iraq war files showed 66,000 civilians had been killed, and prisoners tortured, by Iraqi forces.
The US says the leaks broke the law and endangered lives, but Mr Assange says the case is politically motivated.
Niamh Harris
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The motivation is not Assange to assert except if discussing his own political motivations on wilfully, knowingly committing criminal acts. Its as simple as that. He is guilty as charged and he admits it but feels that his political motivations should exonerate him. Mitigation is for the Courts to decide, not the accused. The accused has every right to present what they feel are the mitigating circumstances and then the Court considers them and makes its finding. However the fact remains Assange knows he broke the law.
In my opinion he was stupid since it helped no one and only put him into a regretful situation. It achieved little or no good
In what way did Julian Assange harm America that we should extradite him here. He is a journalist. He reports. Just like the National Enquirer, CNN news and Foxnews. You have to wonder if the purpose in bringing him here is to reward him. Like Bin Laden, Obama’s look alike brother. And all the traitors to other nations they bring here. Thieves, mobsters, fanatics. Filling up our quaint communities fast. The Ukrainian war is a cover to bring millions more.