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The British court heard witnesses who assured that the Australian journalist would not face a fair trial in the United States.
British judge Vanessa Baraitser will rule on January 4, 2021, whether she authorizes the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States, where the Australian journalist is accused of 18 crimes of espionage that could sentence him up to 175 years in prison.
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The magistrate set the date for her ruling at the end of a four-week trial in the London Old Bailey court, in which numerous witnesses for the WikiLeaks founder's defense have testified.
Since the judge refused to grant Assange parole, he will have to remain in London's Belmarsh high-security center and report to court for control on October 29.
She also refused to postpone the trial so that the Assange's defense could have more time for additional evidence.
I'm not optimistic. The US is determined to charge Assange for exposing their crimes against humanity
— MonicaDelPilarUribe (@uribemonic) October 1, 2020
Journalists -generally not very supportive of Assange- haven't understood his extradition will have terrible consequences for the free press. And free speech. https://t.co/xig0oD3WU4
Over the last month, the British court heard witnesses the defense presented to establish that Assange would not face a fair trial in the United States because the accusations against him are politically motivated.
Among other testimonies, the U.S. journalist Cassandra Fairbanks assured that President Donald Trump’s administration would be involved in the April 2019 expulsion of Assange from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where the WikiLeaks founder had been living as a political asylee since 2012.
The U.S. academic Noam Chomsky, who defended his fight for freedom of information, also testified in favor of Assange.
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