Julian Assange Coming to America

For John, BLUF:  This is a saga that has gone on for too long a time.  It should have been ended under the last administration.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Julian Assange Loses Appeal:  British High Court Accepts U.S. Request to Extradite Him for Trial

Here is the sub-headline:

Press freedom groups have warned Assange's prosecution is a grave threat.  The Biden DOJ ignored them, and today won a major victory toward permanently silencing the pioneering transparency activist.

From Greenwald Substack, by Reporter Glenn Greenwald, 19 December 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

In a London courtroom on Friday morning, Julian Assange suffered a devastating blow to his quest for freedom.  A two-judge appellate panel of the United Kingdom's High Court ruled that the U.S.'s request to extradite Assange to the U.S. to stand trial on espionage charges is legally valid.

As a result, that extradition request will now be sent to British Home Secretary Prita Patel, who technically must approve all extradition requests but, given the U.K. Government's long-time subservience to the U.S. security state, is all but certain to rubber-stamp it.  Assange's representatives, including his fiancee Stella Morris, have vowed to appeal the ruling, but today's victory for the U.S. means that Assange's freedom, if it ever comes, is further away than ever: not months but years even under the best of circumstances.

This is not a good turn for press freedom, either in the UK or the US.  I wonder what they are afraid of.

As an aside, I did think that Mr Greenwald was a bit snarky about the UK being subservient to the US in the area of national security.  However, the issue of press freedom should be paramount for both nations.

Regards  —  Cliff