Julian Assange ‘would be suicide risk’ if extradited from Britain to US, says lawyer

Extradition would expose WikiLeaks founder to inhumane and degrading treatment by a disproportionate sentence, lawyer Edward Fitzgerald argued

Assange, 48, is fighting extradition from Britain to the United States where he is accused of espionage and hacking

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A court artist’s sketch of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in the dock reading his papers for his extradition hearing on Monday. Photo: AP

Published: 11:21pm, 24 Feb 2020Updated: 11:22pm, 24 Feb 2020

Julian Assange should not be extradited to the United States as he would not get a fair trial and would be a suicide risk, his lawyer told a British court hearing on Monday.

Assange’s lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald, said extradition would expose Assange to inhumane and degrading treatment by a disproportionate sentence and prison conditions.

Fitzgerald said the extradition request was motivated by politics rather than any genuine crimes. He said it would be unjust and oppressive to extradite him because of his mental state and risk of suicide.

He said the US attitude to Assange had changed when Donald Trump came to power and that the US president wanted to make an example of his client.

A supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange wearing tape on her mouth calls for his freedom in a protest outside Woolwich Crown Court on Monday. Photo: AFP

Fitzgerald said in 2013 the US government under former President Barack Obama had decided that Assange should not face any action. But that in 2017, after the 2016 election of Trump, an indictment was brought against Assange.

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