UK’s highest court denies Assange attempt to appeal US extradition

Britain’s highest court denied Julian Assange’s request on Monday to appeal a decision to extradite him to the United States.

The court said the request “didn’t raise an arguable point of law,” according to NBC News.

Assange’s attorneys, given their limited options, might seek to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights or challenge the original judge’s findings, NBC reported.

Barry Pollack, Assange’s U.S.-based attorney, said in a statement to The Hill that the British Supreme Court’s decision was “extremely disappointing.”

“Mr. Assange will continue the legal process fighting his extradition to the United States to face criminal charges for publishing truthful and newsworthy information,” Pollack added.

The WikiLeaks founder has long attempted to avoid a trial in the U.S. related to the publication of a massive number of classified documents published more than a decade ago. Assange’s supporters and attorneys argue the publication of such documents was within his First Amendment rights. 

A British district court first rejected his initial request in which Assange asserted he was likely to kill himself in harsh U.S. prison conditions.

U.S. authorities, however, provided assurances that he would not face conditions that would place his physical or mental health in harm’s way. But in December, the high court decided that such assurances were not enough to protect Assange. 

The 50-year-old has been at Belmarsh Prison in London since he was arrested in 2019 for skipping bail in connection with another legal battle. 

He was previously in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years in order to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was to face allegations of rape and sexual assault. Those charges were dropped in November 2019 after Swedish prosecutors determined the evidence had weakened given the lengthy period since the allegations.