Julian Assange’s appeal against US extradition is life or death, wife says

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s last-ditch legal challenge to stop his extradition from Britain to the US is a matter of life or death, his wife Stella says.

Assange, 52, is wanted by US authorities on 18 counts relating to WikiLeaks’ release of vast troves of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables.

Britain approved his extradition in 2022, a decision Assange’s lawyers will fight to try to overturn next week in London’s high court.

Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday, Stella Assange said her husband would not survive if he went to the US.

“His health is in decline, physically and mentally,” she said. “His life is at risk every single day he stays in prison — and if he is extradited, he will die.”

In January 2021, a judge ruled Assange should not be extradited, as his mental health meant he would be at risk of suicide if he was held in a maximum-security prison.

The high court reversed that decision after an appeal by US authorities, who gave a series of assurances about Assange’s treatment.

Stella Assange said they would apply to the European Court of Human Rights for an injunction if his attempt to challenge his extradition at next week’s hearing in London failed.

WikiLeaks first came to prominence in 2010, when it released hundreds of thousands of classified files and diplomatic cables.

US prosecutors say the leaks imperilled the lives of their agents, but Assange’s supporters argue he has been victimised for exposing US wrongdoing.

Assange spent seven years holed up in Ecuador’s embassy in London before he was dragged out and jailed in 2019 for breaching his bail conditions. He has been held in a maximum-security prison in London ever since while his extradition case is decided.

When asked about the couple’s two children, Stella Assange said they did not know about the extradition fight: “Julian and I protect the children,” she said.