WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is denied bail after court ruled he won't be extradited to US

WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange has had his hopes for freedom dashed after being denied bail at a court hearing today.

Today's decision came after it was ruled on Monday that Assange, 49, cannot be extradited to the US to face spy charges due to a suicide risk.

But Assange had his bail application denied by a judge at a Westminster Magistrates' Court hearing this morning.

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected an application for Assange to be released with strict conditions over concerns he could "go to ground".

She said: "Mr Assange still has an incentive to a abscond from these proceedings.

"I am satisfied there are substantial grounds to believe that if he is released he would fail to surrender to this court."

US EXTRADITION BATTLE

US government lawyers are set to appeal Monday's judgment, with Assange to remain in custody in Belmarsh Prison, South East London.

Outside court today, Assange's partner, Stella Moris, mother of their two children, said: "This is a huge disappointment.

"Julian should not be in Belmarsh prison in the first place.

"I urge the Department of Justice to drop the charges and the president of the United States to pardon Julian."


Assange appeared in the dock today dressed in a smart suit and a clinical face mask, speaking only to confirm his name.

Ms Moris was earlier pictured arriving at court with WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson for today's hearing.

Assange is accused of conspiring with army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning after WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of leaked documents in 2010 and 2011.

A US grand jury indicted him on 18 charges last year, including 17 under the Espionage Act.

On Monday, at the Old Bailey, Judge Baraitser denied the request to put the Australian on trial for espionage and hacking government computers.

Extradition to the US would be 'oppressive' to Assange's mental health, the judge said.



Speaking at today's hearing as she rejected Assange's bail application, Judge Baraister said: "As a matter of fairness, the US must be allowed to challenge my decision and if Mr Assange absconds during this process they will lose the opportunity to do so.

"Mr Assange still has a huge support network available to him should he again choose to go to ground."

Assange has been held in Belmarsh prison for the past 15 months as he fought extradition to the US after seeking asylum in the capital's Ecaudorian embassy in 2012.

At today's hearing, Assange's lawyer Ed Fitzgerald, QC, argued his client had "every reason" to stay in the UK if he is granted bail.

Mr Fitzgerald said: "Put simply, Mr Assange has every reason to stay in this jurisdiction where he has the protection of the rule of law and this court's decision."

Mr Assange still has a huge support network available to him should he again choose to go to ground

Mr Fitzgerald said there was a "very grave crisis" of Covid-19 in prison and told the court Assange would be under "house arrest" with Ms Moris and their children if bailed.

But US government lawyer Clair Dobbin argued there were no conditions that would guarantee Assange would surrender to bail.

She said: "The history of his attempts to evade extradition to the United States demonstrates he is capable of going to almost any lengths to avoid that possibility.

"Mr Assange regards himself as above the law and that no cost is too great whether that be to himself, or to others in order to avoid being taken to the US.

"Mr Assange is not someone who feels the pressure or moral pull to adhere to bail for the sake of his sureties. They had scant away over him.

"We obviously contended throughout these proceedings that Mr Assange's mental health was not as severe as what was presented by the defence experts.

"There is an effective mechanism in the US for preventing suicide.

"There exists concrete proof as to the risks of absconding Mr Assange presents."

Outside court, Mr Hrafnsson told reporters outside they would appeal today's "unjust and unfair" bail decision.

He said: "This denial of bail will, in most likelihood, be appealed to the High Court within hours or a few days and we expect this to be overturned, because frankly it doesn't make any sense from any point of view."


One woman was led away by officers as other members of the public shouted "fascists" in the background.

Rebecca Vincent, director of campaign group Reporters Without Borders, called today's bail ruling "unnecessarily cruel".

Assange has been accused of a plot to hack computers and a conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.

The 500,000 secret files detailed aspects of military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq and cables about Guantanamo Bay.

From 2012 to 2019, Assange sought asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London as he facedextradition to Sweden on sex assault claims – which were later dropped – claiming he feared being sent to face espionage charges in the US.

Blocking his extradition to the US on Monday, District Judge Baraister said a previous suicide attempt gives 'the overall impression is of a depressed and sometimes despairing man.'

The judge said: "I am satisfied the procedures described by the US will not prevent Mr Assange from finding a way to commit suicide.

"For this reason I have decided extradition would be oppressive by reason of mental harm and I order his discharge."

If convicted, he would have been held in isolation at the maximum-security Supermax jail in Colorado, described as 'a 'fate worse than death' by a former warden.

Celebrity supporter of Assange include Pamela Anderson, Dame Vivienne Westwood and artist Al Weiwei.



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