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Reuters

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was denied bail on Wednesday because a judge said there is a risk he may abscond while the United States tries to secure his extradition from Britain.
Assange has spent more than eight years either holed up in the London’s Ecuadorean embassy or in jail.
But Assange on Monday won an attempt to stop his extradition to the US to face 18 criminal charges of breaking an espionage law and conspiring to hack government computers. He had then asked to be bailed.
“I am satisfied that there are substantial grounds for believing that if Mr Assange is released today he would fail to surrender to court to face the appeal proceedings,” Judge Vanessa Baraitser said.
Mexico offers asylum to Julian Assange after US extradition bid thwarted
The US Department of Justice says it will continue to seek Assange’s extradition.
“As far as Mr Assange is concerned this case has not yet been won … the outcome of this appeal is not yet known,” Baraitser said.
Assange’s partner, Stella Moris, said the judge’s decision to deny him bail was a huge disappointment and urged the US to pardon him. WikiLeaks said it would appeal against the denial of bail.
“This is a huge disappointment,” Moris told reporters. “Julian should not be in Belmarsh prison in the first place. I urge the Department of Justice to drop the charges and the President of the United States to pardon Julian.”

Admirers hail Australian-born Assange as a hero for exposing what they describe as abuses of power by the US. But detractors cast him as a dangerous figure who has undermined the security of the West, and dispute that he is a journalist.
WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of secret American diplomatic cables that laid bare often critical US appraisals of world leaders, from Russian President Vladimir Putin to members of the Saudi royal family.
Assange made international headlines in early 2010 when WikiLeaks published a classified US military video showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters that killed a dozen people in Baghdad, including two Reuters news staff.
UK judge refuses extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
Clair Dobbin, a lawyer representing the US at the hearing, said Assange had gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid extradition and that he could try to leave the UK to flee justice.
“This court should be in no doubt as to Mr Assange’s resources, abilities and sheer wherewithal to arrange flight to another country,” Dobbin said. “This court should be under no illusion either as to the readiness of other states to offer Mr Assange protection.”
She said that the extradition request had been denied “on a single ground, that of his mental health. It is a decision that hangs on a single thread.”


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Who are Julian Assange’s children – Daniel, Gabriel and Max? The WikiLeaks founder has finally reunited with his wife Stella Assange and kids in Australia as a free man, after a 14-year legal battle

As Assange walks free, multifaceted threats to journalism and the truth are bigger than ever

WikiLeaks

UK court denies bail to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

A mural of Australia’s Julian Assange in Melbourne. Photo: AFP

Stella Moris girlfriend of Julian Assange walks towards Westminster Magistrates Court for his Bail hearing in London, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. On Monday Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled that Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the US. because of concerns about his mental health. Assange had been charged under the US's 1917 Espionage Act for "unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defence". Assange remains in custody, the US. has 14 days to appeal against the ruling. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. File photo: Reuters

Mexico offers asylum to WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange after US extradition bid thwarted

Demonstrators hold a banner displaying WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during a protest outside the British embassy in Mexico City on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador holds a news conference, as Mexico's government is ready to offer political asylum to Julian Assange and supports the decision of a British judge to deny extradition of the WikiLeaks founder to the United States, at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico January 4, 2021. Mexico's Presidency/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

UK judge refuses extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

A protester outside the trial of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Old Bailey in London. Photo: EPA

FILE - In this May 19, 2017 file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange greets supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been in self imposed exile since 2012. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

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Judge says there is a risk the 49-year-old may abscond while the US tries to secure his extradition from Britain
Assange has spent more than eight years either holed up in the London’s Ecuadorean embassy or in jail



Judge says there is a risk the 49-year-old may abscond while the US tries to secure his extradition from Britain.


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Edward Snowden

UK court denies bail to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

Judge says there is a risk the 49-year-old may abscond while the US tries to secure his extradition from Britain Assange has spent more than eight years either holed up in the London’s Ecuadorean embassy or in jail

Judge says there is a risk the 49-year-old may abscond while the US tries to secure his extradition from Britain

Assange has spent more than eight years either holed up in the London’s Ecuadorean embassy or in jail