Liked on YouTube: Assange extradition hearing to start Monday

Assange extradition hearing to start Monday

(21 Feb 2020) The long-awaited US extradition hearing for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is scheduled to begin in London on Monday. The US has charged Assange with leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents and wants him extradited to face trial. Assange faces 18 charges and is accused of working with US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to leak the documents. He could face up to 175 years in jail if he is found guilty. Assange's actions have prompted starkly polarised views on the matter. His critics say his release of confidential diplomatic documents had needlessly put lives in danger, particularly those of American diplomats and their sources. However, his supporters have maintained that he was simply exposing the truth. 48-year-old Assange asserts that he is a journalist entitled to first amendment protection and some press freedom groups are backing his case because they fear it may set a precedent. John Rees, manager of the Don't Extradite Assange campaign, said Assange is a journalist simply doing his job. At a news conference on Thursday in Paris, Christophe Deloire, the General-Secretary of Reporters Without Borders, echoed Rees' comments and said Assange had brought "a major, historical contribution to journalism." Monday's court hearing is the culmination of 10 extraordinary years which saw Assange holed up in London's Ecuadorian Embassy for seven years. In 2012, Assange took refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden where he was accused of sex crimes which he denied and which were later dropped.   Assange always feared he would be extradited from Sweden to the US to face charges. Last year, after Ecuador withdrew his asylum status, he was removed from the embassy and jailed for 50 weeks for skipping bail before the US launched its extradition request. Assange remains in custody at London's Belmarsh Prison while he fights extradition. Find out more about AP Archive: https://ift.tt/1CUvJt1 Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://ift.tt/2mlr9BZ Google+: https://plus.google.com/b/102011028589719587178/+APArchive​ Tumblr: https://aparchives.tumblr.com/​​ Instagram: https://ift.tt/2G5Qog8 You can license this story through AP Archive: https://ift.tt/2Tnfj7P
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