Assange Put Lives at Risk, U.S. Argues as Extradition Hearing Begins
Assange Put Lives at Risk, U.S. Argues as Extradition Hearing Begins by Jason Douglas - Wall Street Journal
LONDON - Julian Assange put lives in danger when he published a decade ago thousands of classified documents related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, a lawyer representing the U.S. government said at the opening day of a court hearing to determine whether the WikiLeaks founder should be extradited to the U.S. to stand trial.
Mr. Assange is wanted in the U.S. on multiple charges of breaching espionage laws and conspiring to hack a military computer. The charges were laid out in an 18-count indictment the Justice Department issued in May.
Mr. Assange, a 48-year-old Australian, denies the charges, saying the publication in 2010 and 2011 of diplomatic cables, military logs and other secret documents funneled to WikiLeaks by former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning was legitimate journalism in the public interest. A lawyer acting in his defense said the U.S. pursuit of Mr. Assange is politically motivated and his extradition should be refused.
The hearing in London is scheduled to last several months and lawyers say they would expect either side to appeal the verdict, meaning a final decision on Mr. Assange’s extradition may not be made until next year or 2022…