Julian Assange has been imprisoned “for exposing Western crimes”, says his wife, Stella Assange.
In a high-profile speech at her husband’s ongoing trial, she says that rulers and “warmongers” around the world will stop at nothing to maintain the escalating rhetoric of war and military industry – and are prepared to kill anyone who tries to expose them.
Stella Assange expresses deep surprise and frustration at Tuesday’s decision by the British High Court to adjourn until May 20 her husband’s appeal against extradition to the United States.
Condemning the decision as opening the door to US political interference in the case, she expressed her frustration and dismay at the decision to reporters outside the High Court in London.
– Today’s decision is astonishing. The courts recognize that Julian faces a blatant denial of his right to freedom of expression, that he is discriminated against because of his nationality as an Australian, and that he still faces the death penalty.
– What the courts have done is to invite a political intervention by the United States. I find this astonishing.
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“A disgrace to democracy”
She went on to stress that in her view, Julian Assange is a political prisoner and that the corrupt legal system in both the UK and the US is the reason for the restriction of his rights.
– He is a journalist and he is being persecuted for exposing the real price of war in human lives, Stella Assange told supporters gathered outside the court.
Stella Assange also called on the US to refrain from filing affidavits with the Supreme Court and instead drop what she called “this shameful case”.
– This is a shame for every democracy [and] a signal to all of you that if you expose the interests that drive war, they will come after you, they will put you in jail and they will try to kill you.
Evidence of war crimes
The espionage charges stem from Assange’s publication of hundreds of thousands of pages of classified US military documents on WikiLeaks in 2010.
US prosecutors allege that Assange actively sought out leakers within the US intelligence community and conspired with one of them – intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning – to hack the Pentagon’s servers and retrieve the documents.
The files revealed evidence of what many consider to be war crimes committed by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. They include video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists.
The case of Julian Assange
Julian Assange is the founder of WikiLeaks, a platform for publishing secret information from governments and corporations around the world - mainly evidence of war crimes and human rights abuses - and over the years WikiLeaks has published hundreds of thousands of documents, including military and diplomatic reports.
Assange has been accused by the US of disclosing national defense information and by Sweden of alleged but unproven sexual abuse. These allegations have led to legal proceedings and extradition requests. Since 2019, Assange has been held in Belmarsh prison in southeast London, awaiting extradition.
In 2022, the United Kingdom, under then-Home Secretary Priti Patel, approved his extradition to the United States after an earlier extradition was halted due to Assange's mental health. Assange and his defense team appealed the extradition decision and fought to prevent his extradition to the US.
In 2024, the UK High Court postponed a decision on Assange's appeal until May 20, giving him more time to fight extradition.
There have also been allegations of political interference by the US, which many observers say led to an unfair trial.
Assange's case has also raised questions about freedom of the press and freedom of expression, with many defending his actions as journalistic work and criticizing attempts to prosecute him for revealing information about serious abuses that are of high public interest.
Stella Assange, Julian Assange's wife, has publicly criticized the extradition process and expressed concern for her husband's welfare and justice.
