US submits assurances to UK over Julian Assange extradition, moving case forward again

Source: ABC News

April 17, 2024, 6:20 AM


LONDON -- The United States has reportedly sent assurances to the United Kingdom intended to facilitate the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange -- including that he will not face the death penalty -- signaling, for now, that the U.S. is continuing to move forward with its efforts to prosecute Assange on espionage charges.

Last month, the U.K.’s High Court ordered a delay in Assange’s extradition unless the U.S. could provide assurances on a number of issues, including that he would not face the death penalty and that he will be granted the same first amendment protections as American citizens.

The U.S. embassy in London has now sent a letter to the U.K. Foreign Office, according to multiple news organizations, seeking to address those issues.

The letter referred specifically to Assange having “the ability to raise and seek to rely upon” the first amendment but also said that its applicability “is exclusively within the purview of the U.S. courts”, according to the Guardian. It also states that “a sentence of death will neither be sought nor imposed on Assange.”

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/us-submits-assurances-uk-julian-assange-extradition-moving/story?id=109340170