The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention expressed concern on Friday over the course of legal proceedings against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in the United Kingdom and "disproportionate sentence" passed on him
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd May, 2019) The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention expressed concern on Friday over the course of legal proceedings against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in the United Kingdom and "disproportionate sentence" passed on him.
A London court sentenced Assange on Wednesday to 50 weeks in prison for breaching bail by taking a refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy back in 2012. According to Judge Deborah Taylor, by entering the Ecuadorian embassy, the whistleblower "deliberately" put himself "out of reach," whilst remaining in the United Kingdom.
"The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is deeply concerned about this course of action including the disproportionate sentence imposed on Mr. Assange. The Working Group is of the view that violating bail is a minor violation that, in the United Kingdom, carries a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison, even though the bond related to the bail has been lost in favour of the British Government, and that Mr. Assange was still detained after violating the bail which, in any case should not stand after the Opinion was issued," the group's statement said.
According to the group, the fact that Assange has been imprisoned in Belmarsh high-security prison contradicts the principles of necessity and proportionality prescribed by the human rights standards since the whistleblower has not committed any serious criminal offenses.
�Assange was arrested on April 11 after having spent nearly seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. The WikiLeaks founder, who has become famous for leaking classified US government data, may now face extradition to the United States on charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.
