US Prosecution Of Assange Politically Motivated - Witness To UK Extradition Hearing

US Prosecution of Assange Politically Motivated - Witness to UK Extradition Hearing

The US prosecution of Julian Assange is politically motivated, a witness for the defense told the UK court dealing with the extradition request filed by the US government against the Wikileaks founder on Wednesday

LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th September, 2020) The US prosecution of Julian Assange is politically motivated, a witness for the defense told the UK court dealing with the extradition request filed by the US government against the Wikileaks founder on Wednesday.

"There is abundant evidence that this is dealt as a politically motivated prosecution," Paul Rogers, an emeritus professor of peace studies at Bradford University said from the witness stand via a remote connection with the London Criminal Court.

Rogers said that the current US administration sees Wikileaks as a threat and that US President Donald Trump wants to do the opposite of what his predecessor Barack Obama did when the latter decided not to prosecute Assange because of concerns of violating the 1st amendment.

"In my opinion, Mr. Assange's expressed views, opinions and activities demonstrate very clearly political opinions. The clash of those opinions with those of successive US administrations, but in particular the present administration which has moved to prosecute him for publications made almost a decade ago, suggest that he is regarded primarily as a political opponent who must experience the full wrath of the government, even with suggestions of punishment by death made by senior officials including the current President, Rogers stated.

The US Department of Justice is seeking to extradite the WikiLeaks founder on 18 espionage and computer misuse charges, which carries a sentence as long as 175 years in prison.

The hearing to decide whether Assange should be sent to the United States resumed on Monday at the London Central Criminal Court, after six months of delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The WikiLeaks founder, who has been locked at the maximum-security prison of Belmarsh since his arrest at the Ecuadoran embassy in London in April 2019, is attending the trial from behind a glass panel, away from his defense team.

The hearing is expected to last at least three weeks, and it is highly probable that the verdict will be appealed by the losing side.