In a statement, Stella Maurice, the mother of the Australian’s two youngest children, called the decision “dangerous and wrong” and “a great injustice.”
Maurice and Assange were recently allowed to marry at Belmarsh prison in London, where the founder of WikiLeaks is in pre-trial detention, according to EFE.
A British appeals court today opened the door for the extradition of the founder of WikiLeaks to the United States on espionage charges, overturning a lower court ruling.
Supreme Court [High Court] London ruled that the guarantees given by the United States were sufficient to treat Assange humanely and ordered a lower court judge to forward the extradition request to the UK Home Secretary for review.
Assange’s US attorney, Barry J. Pollack, called the decision released today “extremely disturbing,” saying the Americans were planning to kidnap and kill his client.
“The British court came to this decision without considering extradition, when the US is bringing charges against Assange, which could lead to decades in prison, based on the fact that he provided truthful information on important issues such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. “, – he stressed.
The Cuban government also reacted to the decision, accusing the United States of seeking “revenge and punishment” in an attempt to bring an Australian condemnation of Washington’s abuses in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars to justice.
The United States “intends to lead by example against those who expose their criminal behavior that will have serious consequences for journalism and freedom of expression,” said Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez.
Russia, on the other hand, qualified the decision of the British justice system as “shameful” in front of a “political case”.
“This decision (…) in relation to a journalist and a public figure is another illustration of the cannibalistic view of the world of Anglo-Saxon predators,” Maria Zakharova, press secretary of the Foreign Ministry, shot dead.
The adviser ironically noted via the social network Telegram that the West “adequately celebrated the International Day of Human Rights and the ‘Summit for Democracy'”, referring to a virtual conference on this topic, organized by the President of the United States, Joe Biden
“We support [Assange] because of the dangerous consequences that this case could have on the world, on the future of journalism and press freedom, ”RSF Secretary General Christophe Deloire warned in a statement.
“If they keep [as acusações]this case will undermine the fundamental role of journalists and editors in scrutinizing governments and exposing their failures, ”he said.
Amnesty International’s head of Europe, Nils Muižnieks, said the accusation posed “a serious threat to press freedom both in the United States and abroad.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also rejected the decision, recalling that Assange “fell victim to his contributions to journalism.”
After the decision of the High Court [High Court] London, now Home Secretary Priti Patel has to oversee the observance of UK laws and make the final decision on extradition.
The US court wants to try the Australian for publishing more than 700,000 confidential documents about US military and diplomatic activities since 2010, mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan.
American prosecutors charged Assange with 17 espionage counts and one count of computer misuse for publishing classified documents through WikiLeaks.
The maximum prison sentence is 175 years.
Assange, 50, is currently held at the Belmarsh maximum security prison in London.
Previously, the WikiLeaks founder was a refugee for seven years at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, from 2012 to April 2019, when the Ecuadorian authorities decided to revoke his asylum right and British authorities detained him.
