Australian editor and activist Julian Assange is back on trial and is likely to face 175 years of solitary confinement in the US. Anika Khan reports.
From 2006 to 2010 his NGO Wiki-leaks published catalogs of classified US military materials which took the world by storm. It included details of the US military involvement in avoidable civilian deaths and the casualties of Yemen drone strikes.
The world found out horrible accounts of the Baghdad airstrike, and records from the Afghanistan War logs and Iraq War logs, and about the Cable gate. After the 2010 leaks, the US government took legal actions and launched a criminal investigation into this organization. US Army Intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning disclosed over 750,000 classified records to Julian. He was later arrested for this. The documents and videos that were leaked were met with global outrage questioning the role of the American government in taking civilian lives.
Julian’s hearing in February discussed the legal aspects of the case. In the following weeks, witnesses will be presented by his defense lawyers to strengthen his case.
After Julian was accused of sexual assault in Sweden in 2012 he took sanctuary in the Ecuadotrna embassy, London. Later he was arrested by the British police from the embassy. He was initially jailed for breaching bail conditions. Later the Swedish authorities dropped the assault case that was earlier put on him.
The US has filed an extradition request for Julian. The US authorities are planning to prosecute Julian with 18 charges which if convicted would result in 175 years of prison time for him.
The Westminster Magistrates will be returning to the US extradition request today. Protestors outside the court are condemning the US requests. It is a matter of time till will find out whether Julian will walk free or not.
