Julian Assange

Judge Vanessa Baraitser has ruled against releasing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on bail: "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."

Rebecca Vincent, Director of International Campaigns at NGO Reporters without Borders, called the court's decision to refuse bail "unnecessarily cruel."

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador offered political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Monday.

"I'm going to ask the foreign minister to carry out the relevant procedures to request that the UK government releases Mr. Assange and that Mexico offers him political asylum," Obrador told reporters and added that "Assange is a journalist and deserves a chance."

The US extradition request for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was rejected by a London court on Monday. The court cited medical reasons for the decision, in particular Assange's mental condition and suicidal risk. The lawyers for the US judiciary immediately appealed.

Jennifer Robinson, Julian Assange's lawyer, told a court in London she observed a meeting when Dana Rohrabacher and Charles Johnson made an offer of pardon from Donald Trump.
The pardon would be given if the WikiLeaks founder provided the source for the 2016 hacking of the Democratic National Committee emails.Assange's lawyer Trump offered to pardon Assange if he provided source for Democratic emails, lawyer says

British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood is leading the protests outside the Old Bailey in London to stop the extradition of Julian Assange and has suspended herself in a massive birdcage 10ft above the ground.

"If the canary died they all got out. Julian Assange is in a cage and he needs to get out. Don't extradite to America," so Westwood and adding that she was wearing yellow as he still hadn't had any sun and that the cage represented "the space Julian will inhabit if he is extradited to the US."

Assange's extradition battle at Old Bailey is set to resume on September 7.

Court hearings in the U.S. extradition case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will resume in September after being postponed from later this month because of the coronavirus pandemic outbreak.

Judge Vanessa Baraitser said it would not be possible for it to recommence this month because of strict restrictions on gatherings to curb the spread of Covid-19.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was denied bail on Wednesday after his defense lawers argued a release from Belmarsh Prison in London would mitigate his "high risk" of catching coronavirus.

Assange's lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald, told Westminster Magistrates Court Assange has prior chest and tooth infections and osteoporis, placing him at a higher risk from the virus.

However, Judge Vannessa Baraitser rejected the arguments, arguing that based on Assange's prior conduct, there are "substantial grounds" to believe that if released he would not return to face extradition hearing. "As matters stand today, this global pandemic does not, as of itself, yet provide grounds for Mr Assange’s release," she said.

In an interview the former congressman for the republican party in California Dana Rohrabacher confirmed that he offered Julian Assange a presidential pardon in 2017. Before the confirmation, only Assange's lawyers claimed that a presidential pardon was offered to the WikiLeaks founder. The offer was tied to the condition that Assange provides prove that Russia hasn't been the source of the, by WikiLeaks published, internal emails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

The lawyers of the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said that he's planning on calling a witness on the stand that will testify that Assange was offered a presidential pardon. The pardon was allegedly tied to Assange denying that Russia were responsible for the interference in the US elections. They claim that the offer was made by the former republican congressman   Dana Rohrabacher who claimed to act on behalf of President Donald Trump.