The legal battle to prevent Julian Assange from being sent to the United States is to continue despite the British Interior Minister signing an order to hand over the founder of WikiLeaks.
His wife, Stella, promised to fight the decision on “all available paths” and vowed that “I will fight for Julian every hour I wake up until he is free.”
She said her husband had told her “recently” that she would commit suicide if she was handed over.
The Australian spent more than three years in Belmarsh Prison in London after being dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy where he had lived since 2012.
British Home Secretary Priti Patel made her decision on Friday, which WikiLeaks said was the “very last day” it could be announced.
A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said: The delivery request will only be sent to the Minister of Interior if the judge decides that he can continue after considering various aspects of the case.
“On June 17, after consideration by both the Magistrates’ Court and the High Court, Julian Assange was ordered to be handed over to the United States. Assange retains the usual 14-day appeal.
“In this case, British courts do not find that the delivery of Mr. Assange is repressive, unjust, or abuse of the process. They also have the right to a fair trial and speech about the delivery. I have not found incompatibility with his human rights, including his freedom, and while in the United States, he has not been properly treated, including those related to his health. “
Julian Assange’s lawyer Jennifer Robinson said at a press conference in London that they would appeal for a decision.
She states: “We have 14 days and will appeal this to the European Court of Human Rights as needed.”
A WikiLeaks spokesman said: Anyone in a country that cares about freedom of speech should be deeply ashamed that the Minister of Interior has approved Julian Assange’s delivery to the United States, the country in which he attempted to assassinate.
“Julian didn’t do anything wrong. He wasn’t a criminal and he wasn’t a criminal. He’s a journalist, a publisher, and he’s been punished for his work.
“It was the power of Priti Patel to do the right thing. Instead, she will be forever remembered as an American accomplice in the agenda of turning investigative journalism into a criminal enterprise.
“Currently, foreign law limits the country’s freedom of the press, and the industry’s most prestigious award-winning journalism is considered an exorbitant crime worthy of life imprisonment.
“Julian’s road to freedom is long and winding. Today is not the end of the fight. It is just the beginning of a new court battle. We will appeal through the legal system. The next appeal will be in the High Court. We fight loudly, yell on the streets, organize, and tell Julian’s story to everyone.
“Undoubtedly, this has always been a political event. Julian has released evidence that the country trying to hand him over committed war crimes and concealed them. Tortured and rendered; foreign. Bribes to civil servants. And corruption of judicial investigations against U.S. misconduct. Their revenge tried to make him disappear into the darkest depressions of the prison system for the rest of his life, and others It is to discourage asking the government for clarification.
“We don’t make it happen. Julian’s freedom is tied to all of us. We fight to bring Julian back to his family and regain the freedom of speech of all of us. “
Stella Assange told PA News Agency: “The Interior Minister has approved sending Julian to a country planning to kill him. Julian has exposed a crime by the US government.
“The Secretary of the Interior tolerates not only the crimes committed by the US government against Julian, but also the crimes of the US government exposed by WikiLeaks.
“Julian is a political prisoner. We use all means to appeal this decision. Until he is free, I will concentrate on fighting for justice every hour I wake up.”
She said the appeal included evidence that the CIA had previously attempted to kill her husband, adding: He couldn’t sleep, but Julian is a fighter. “
When asked if the two young children would reunite with their father as free men, Mrs. Assange said: That is what drives us.
“But we are confident that this mistake will be corrected and the court will eventually do the right thing.”
Mrs. Assange said at a news conference that she had a realistic prospect of suicide if he was handed over to the United States.
She states: “Julian wants to live, but he wants to live with the potential for freedom and the potential to be with his children and me. He has a reason to fight while here. ..
“If he is handed over to the United States, the conditions under which he is placed are oppressive. It will drive him to take his own life.
“It’s not just a regular discussion about mental health.
“We are talking about driving people to their lives.”
Agnès Callamar, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, said:
“If the delivery goes on, Amnesty International is very concerned that Assange faces a high risk of long-term solitary confinement, which violates the ban on torture and other ill-treatment.”
