The main hearings on the case of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is battling extradition to the United States, scheduled for early September, will be held in person and the defendant must be present in the court, UK media reported on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th July, 2020) The main hearings on the case of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is battling extradition to the United States, scheduled for early September, will be held in person and the defendant must be present in the court, UK media reported on Monday.
An administrative hearing took place in the court on Monday ahead of the September trial. Assange's lawyers, Edward Fitzgerald and Mark Summers, represented his interests during the hearing, but the judge ordered the Wikileaks founder to observe the hearing online. Assange later joined the hearing via a video link from London's Belmarsh prison. The Wikileaks founder looked tired, wore a beige sweater and a purple shirt, but was not covering himself with a face mask.
According to The Guardian, Vanessa Baraitser, a judge of the Westminster Magistrates' Court, said that she assumed Assange would attend the extradition hearings in September not by a video link, but in person. The judge added that the next administrative hearings were scheduled for August 14, while the deadline for filing any new evidence for prosecution expired on Monday.
The defense lawyers and prosecutors agreed with Baraitser. Fitzgerald said that the defense would present to the court all the arguments for the upcoming main hearing on August 25, and the prosecution agreed to answer them on September 2. The court will also receive a detailed report on Assange's mental health.
The Wikileaks founded is expected to participate in hearings via a video link on August 14. The main hearings will start on September 7 at London's Central Criminal Court and will last for 3 weeks.
During the Monday hearing, the prosecutors brought another superseding indictment against Assange. The whistleblowing website's editor-in-chief, Kristinn Hrafnsson, said that there is nothing new in the fresh US allegations, and the prosecution is still unable "to build a coherent and credible case."
Assange was arrested in London in April 2019 at the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he sought refuge in June 2012. He was initially sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for jumping bail but has remained in custody pending his extradition trial, as he is deemed to be a flight risk. In the US, Assange is wanted on 18 Federal charges, including conspiracy to hack government computers and espionage. He faces up to 175 years in prison if found guilty.
