Assange has remained a prisoner since 2019 in Britain and is at risk of extradition to the US, where the authorities have prosecuted him and want to try him for “espionage”
The European Union must adopt a “strong position” vis-a-vis the US, to demand the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been imprisoned since 2019 in the United Kingdom, his wife Stella Assange said on Monday, during press conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Julian Assange was nominated for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, awarded annually by the European Parliament. The 2022 prize, to be formally awarded in Strasbourg later today, will go to the “courageous Ukrainian people”, who have been facing Russia’s military invasion since 24 February.
“The fact that he was a finalist (for the Zakharov Prize) showed, from a political point of view, that his case matters for the European Union, it matters for European citizens,” Ms Assange insisted, pointing out that the management of the maximum security prison in Belmars, near London, did not allow him to intervene via video link.
“I hope that the European institutions will take a clear position, they have the legitimacy, through their parliament, to adopt a strong position”, estimated Mrs. Assange
The 51-year-old Australian national is at risk of extradition from Britain to the US, where authorities have prosecuted him and want to try him for “espionage” over the release of more than 700,000 confidential and classified US diplomatic and military documents, mostly about US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After his arrest by British police in 2019, after seven years of remaining in the Ecuadorian embassy in the British capital, where he fled in 2012, Mr Assange, incarcerated in Belmars prison, is awaiting a hearing on his appeal against of London’s decision to proceed with his extradition. The decision of justice on whether to proceed with the extradition “is expected at any moment”, reminded Stella Assange.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
