The WikiLeaks founder would have been considered as a ‘fighter for fact and freedom’ if his revelations had involved Moscow or Beijing, in keeping with Vyacheslav Volodin
Nations that assist the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the US will not be states based mostly on the rule of legislation if the handover ultimately occurs, Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin argued in a Telegram submit on Monday.
The scenario across the detained whistleblower is an instance of the lies, double requirements, and spite on show from Washington, London, and Brussels, Volodin added.
Assange, now in his fifth 12 months within the high-security Belmarsh jail in London regardless of having been convicted of no crime, faces 175 years in jail within the US for publishing paperwork through WikiLeaks that detailed alleged unlawful US actions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, and elsewhere. The information have been leaked to him by former US soldier Chelsea Manning.
The revealed data and paperwork show Washington’s involvement in coups and the instigation of wars, Volodin identified in his submit. The leaked paperwork additionally purported to point out that the US Nationwide Safety Company (NSA) wiretapped a number of European heads of state, together with former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Assange “uncovered Washington’s crimes. And the ‘world hegemon’ doesn’t tolerate this type of factor, destroying all those that disagree,” Volodin argued. The whistleblower would have been designated a ‘fighter for fact and freedom’ had his revelations involved Russia or China fairly than the US, in keeping with the MP.
The truth that an individual stays in a high-security jail with out confirmed guilt “is nothing wanting a scandal,” the lawmaker added.
Assange was first arrested by British police in 2010 on a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued by Sweden over allegations of intercourse crimes. He denied the accusations and claimed they have been a pretext to extradite him to the US. In 2012, he took refuge within the Ecuadorian Embassy in London solely to be arrested once more in 2019 after Ecuador revoked his political asylum.
The WikiLeaks founder is now awaiting the choice of the Excessive Court docket within the UK on his enchantment towards extradition. He was not in a position to attend and even watch the latest proceedings remotely attributable to a pointy deterioration in his well being.
Within the US, Assange is dealing with 17 prices underneath the Espionage Act and a possible jail sentence of 175 years. The Espionage Act has by no means earlier than been used to prosecute somebody who revealed – however didn’t steal – labeled materials. Former US President Barack Obama refused to press prices towards the Australian journalist for this very motive, arguing that Assange’s exercise was protected by the First Modification of the US Structure.
“His extradition can be a flagrant violation of the European Conference on Human Rights, together with the proper to freedom of speech,” Volodin warned.
