WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seen after was arrested by British police outside Westminster Magistrates Court in London, Britain April 11, 2019. (Reuters)More than 70 British legislators have urged the government to make sure WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces Swedish justice if prosecutors there reopen a rape allegation against him.
The lawmakers signed a letter late Friday urging Home Secretary Sajid Javid to “do everything you can to champion action that will ensure Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden in the event Sweden makes an extradition request.”
Sweden suspended its investigation of serious sexual misconduct two years ago because Assange was beyond their reach while he was living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London with political asylum status.
He was arrested Thursday after Ecuador withdrew his asylum and is now in British custody facing an extradition request from the United States on charges of conspiring to break into a Pentagon computer.
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He is in Belmarsh Prison in southeast London waiting to be sentenced for jumping bail in Britain and plans to fight extradition to the U.S.
If Britain receives competing extradition requests, lawyers say the Home Secretary would have some leeway in deciding which takes priority. Considerations would usually include which request came first, and which alleged crime was more serious.
Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange protest against his arrest, near the British embassy in Berlin, Germany April 12, 2019. The signs read: “Prevent the extradition of Julian Assange to the U.S.!” (Reuters)Most of the lawmakers who signed the letter are from the opposition Labour Party, whose leader, Jeremy Corbyn, wants Britain to refuse to send Assange to the U.S. After Assange’s arrest, he praised Assange for exposing U.S. atrocities committed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Some Conservative Party members are also backing the move. Prominent lawmaker Alistair Burt, a former Foreign Office minister, said the “minimizing of the issues in relation to sexual assault are really quite disturbing.”
He said the testimony of the women who have been involved makes it “essential” that Assange face justice to either be cleared or convicted.
Assange, 47, has denied the sexual misconduct allegations, which he claims are politically motivated.
When he took up residence inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in 2012, it was to avoid answering the sexual allegations against him in Sweden, which had sought his extradition for questioning. He also sought refuge because of fears he would ultimately be extradited to the US.
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Swedish prosecutors opened an investigation into Assange after two women accused him of sexual offenses during a 2010 visit to Sweden.
Some of the sexual misconduct accusations are no longer viable because their time ran out. But Swedish prosecutors have said a rape case could be reactivated before the statute of limitations ends in August 2020.
After Assange’s arrest, Swedish prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson was tapped to look into a request from a lawyer for one of the accusers to find out whether the case can be pursued.
Elisabeth Massi Fritz, the lawyer for the woman who reported being raped by Assange, told The Associated Press that she would “do everything” to have the Swedish case reopened so Assange can be extradited to Sweden and prosecuted.
The extradition process is not swift, and Assange could appeal several times if decisions go against him. It is expected that it would take a year or longer for him to be sent to the United States or possibly to Sweden even if he ultimately loses in court.
