LONDON: In a few weeks or months, Judge Vanessa Barotser will rule on whether Julian Assange can be taken to the United States to face serious charges of espionage, so it is possible for him to be in good spirits. That’s a good idea.
But on Tuesday, the second day of the WikiLeaks founder’s extradition hearing in London, which had been delayed for months by the coronavirus epidemic, Brightesen warned Assange that he would be removed from court for good if he could not keep his thoughts. Themselves when witnesses are giving their evidence.
Assange reportedly made “nonsense” during the hearing when a lawyer representing the U.S. told the witness that the WikiLeaks founders were facing extradition not for handling the leaked documents but for disclosing names and endangering U.S. insiders.
Clearly annoyed by his outrage, Barotser told Assange, who was in the dock, that he should not speak even when the prosecutor essentially disagreed with the team’s position.
“If you interfere with the proceedings and interrupt a witness who is giving their evidence properly, it is open to me to continue without you in your absence,” Barretzer said. Said Assange. “Obviously this is not what I want to do. So I am giving you a clear warning. ”
Judge Added, “I understand that you can hear things you disagree with … and you want to contradict and call these things your own, but you don’t have a chance to do this.”
The warning came after Clive Stafford-Smith, founder of legal charity Reprieve Told the court Documents released by WikiLeaks expose serious violations of the law, including the use of US drones for Pakistan’s targeted strikes, as well as alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.
James Lewis QC, representing U.S. authorities, replied that the case was not about the usefulness of the documents and that U.S. charges revolved around the publication of the names of experts in Iraq and Afghanistan who risked their lives. It was Lewis’s rebuttal that provoked Assange’s aggression.
It was the second day of a four-week hearing at Old Bailey, where WikiLeaks founder U.S. Is fighting an extradition battle to face an 18-count indictment on espionage charges. Assange embarrassed the U.S. government a decade ago by publishing thousands upon thousands of secret American documents.
However, Assange’s supporters see him as a journalist and a free speech champion – an argument that was accepted by his lawyers in the early days of the trial.
Assange faces up to 175 years in prison on U.S. charges.
Amateur web specialist. General food junkie. Typical zombie enthusiast. Avid music trailblazer. Lifelong explorer.
