The UK High Court overturned the Westminster Magistrates'
Court decision not to extradite Julian Assange to the United States
last Friday, as the Biden administration continues to seek to
prosecute the Australian journalist in relation to a swag of
charges laid under former president Donald Trump.
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled against extraditing the
Wikileaks founder
on 4 January, based on his mental health and Washington's
inability to ensure his conditions of confinement wouldn't lead
to his suicide. But she also upheld the substantial US case for his
release into its custody.
The bare bones of the White House's pursuit of Assange is
due to his having published
hundreds of thousands of top secret US diplomatic and military
files leaked by former US Army soldier Chelsea Manning. Although
ongoing subsequent leaks seem to have strengthened
Washington's resolve.
