LONDON, January 6. /TASS/. The founder of WikiLeaks Australian citizen Julian Assange cannot be released on bail during US appeal against denied extradition, Judge Vanessa Baraitser announced on Wednesday.
According to Baraitser, Assange has motive and ample opportunity to make an attempt to escape justice, and in the past he has violated the conditions of bail.
Assange’s defense pointed out that after Baraitser's decision that he could not be extradited to the United States, their client had no reason to hide from justice. It was also indicated that Assange is at risk of contracting coronavirus in prison, and has already spent more than 20 months in prison, 15 of them pending consideration of the US request for his extradition and a court decision in his case. They also pushed for his release on humanitarian ground so that the WikiLeaks founder could recover and see his children and fiancee.
The defense of WikiLeaks founder intends to challenge the Court’s decision.
On January 4, the London court has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the United States over a significant risk to his life and health. Judge Vanessa Baraitser, who delivered the ruling at London’s Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, acknowledged that Assange had autism spectrum disorder and suffered from depression and could commit suicide. In addition, Assange’s condition could deteriorate in solitary confinement in the United States.
Assange also is an intelligent individual who could escape any measures aimed at preventing suicide attempts. So, the risk to his life was a ground for refusing to extradite him. "In these harsh conditions, Mr. Assange’s mental health would deteriorate causing him to commit suicide with the "single minded determination" of his autism spectrum disorder," the Judge said in the ruling. "I find that the mental condition of Mr. Assange is such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America.".