Skip to main content

Scott Morrison says Julian Assange will be 'free to return home to Australia' once his legal proceedings in the UK are over - after a judge blocked his extradition to the US

Prime Minster Scott Morrison has declared Julian Assange will be free to return to Australia once his legal battle in the United Kingdom is over.

A British judge on Monday ruled the Wikileaks founder - who was born in Townsville, Queensland in 1971 - cannot be extradited to the US to face spying charges due to the risk of him taking his own life in an American jail.

US officials wanted to put him on trial for conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law by releasing top secret documents about US military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The US government is expected to appeal the decision but if that appeal also lands in Assange's favour then he will be a free man after almost ten years in prison or self-imposed confinement.

Mr Morrison avoided passing judgement on the decision but said Assange would be able to travel home if he his freed.

'I note the decision overnight and like any other Australian I understand that's subject to appeal... assuming that all turns out, he's like any other Australian, he's free to return home to Australia if he wishes,' Mr Morrison told 3AW radio.

'Consular support has been offered to Assange... it's a matter for him if he when proceedings and processes end,' the prime minister added. 

Julian Assange has won his legal battle against US officials who wanted to put him on trial for helping hack government computers and violating an espionage law by releasing confidential cables. He is sketched at the Old Bailey on Monday

Julian Assange has won his legal battle against US officials who wanted to put him on trial for helping hack government computers and violating an espionage law by releasing confidential cables. He is sketched at the Old Bailey on Monday

Assange is still wanted on 18 charges in the US - with a maximum 175 years in jail - relating to the 2010 release by WikiLeaks of 500,000 secret files detailing military campaigns.

His legal team argued that the US effort to extradite him was launched under pressure from Donald Trump's administration, and that his extradition would pose a severe threat to press freedom.

But it was only the risk he would commit suicide if he were held in a US maximum security jail that led Judge Vanessa Baraitser to reject the extradition request.

She said Assange suffered at times from severe depression and had been diagnosed with autism. Half a razor blade was found in his London prison cell in May 2019, and he had told medical staff of suicidal thoughts and made plans to end his life.

A US Justice Department spokesman said on Monday: 'While we are extremely disappointed in the court's ultimate decision, we are gratified that the United States prevailed on every point of law raised.... We will continue to seek Mr Assange's extradition to the United States.'  

In court in London, Assange sat in a blue suit with crossed legs and wiped his brow after the decision was announced, while his fiancee, Stella Moris - with whom he has two young sons - wept.

Ms Moris, who fell in love with Assange while she was his lawyer, said outside the Old Bailey: 'Today is a victory for Julian. Today's victory is a first step towards justice in this case.'

more videos

PM Boris Johnson announces tough new January Covid restrictions

Emergency services arrive at scene of murder in Reading

Boris Johnson warns harsher Covid measures are coming

Keir Starmer: National lockdown must include school closures

Woman calls out g-string wearing lady at the beach

Trump pressures GA Secretary of State to find 11,780 votes

Joe Wicks announces the return of his virtual PE classes

Ex-con Junaid Khan takes video in Prison with smuggled phone

Georgia election official debunks conspiracy theories one by one

Adorable one-year-old girl shows off her epic skateboarding skills

Prof Stephen Powis: Oxford are 'raring to go' with AstraZeneca vaccine

Local shows anger after Union Flags removed from Penzance promenade

Assange's supporters cheered and hugged outside the Old Bailey after the judge revealed she was blocking his extradition

Assange's supporters cheered and hugged outside the Old Bailey after the judge revealed she was blocking his extradition

She also issued a direct appeal to President Trump, which references President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet lead Mikhail Gorbachev to 'tear down' the Berlin Wall. 'Mr President tear down these prison walls,' she said. 'Let our little boys have their father. Free Julian. Free the press.'

Assange's defence team, including celebrity barrister Jennifer Robinson, will return to the Old Bailey on Wednesday for a bail application. If they successful, he could be a free man immediately afterwards.

However, this is thought to be unlikely given the US government's intent to appeal. They have 14 days to state their grounds, during which time Assange will stay on remand at HMP Belmarsh in south-west London.

Had Assange been convicted in the US, he would have been held in isolation at the notorious Supermax jail in Colorado, which has been described by a former warden as a 'clean version of hell' and a 'fate worse than death'.

Judge Vanessa Baraitser said there was an 'unmanageable high risk' of Assange taking his own life if he was housed amid the grim conditions as she revealed he has autism, Asperger's and a severe depressive disorder.

She accepted the evidence of medical experts who revealed that Assange had spoken openly about suicide while in Belmarsh and had prepared for it by writing a will.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's partner, Stella Moris, speaks to the media outside the Old Bailey in London on Monday

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's partner, Stella Moris, speaks to the media outside the Old Bailey in London on Monday

'Today is a victory for Julian': Assange's partner Stella Moris hails verdict

Ms Moris, who fell in love with Assange while she was his lawyer, said outside the Old Bailey: 'I had hoped today would be the day Julian would come home. Today is not that day but that day will come soon.

'As long as Julian has to endure suffering in isolation as an unconvicted prisoner at Belmarsh prison, as long as our children continue to be robbed of their father's love and affection, we cannot celebrate.

'We will celebrate the day he comes home. 

'Today is a victory for Julian. Today's victory is a first step towards justice in this case.

'On behalf of Julian and myself, I want to thank the millions of people around the world and the institutions that are already calling for this persecution to end.

'I ask you all to shout louder, you lobby harder, until he is free. I call on everyone else to come together to defend Julian's rights; not just Julian's rights, they are your rights too. Julian's freedom is coupled to all our freedoms and our freedoms are lost in the blink of an eye.

'I call on insiders to come forward to expose the full extent of the misconduct that has led to Julian's imprisonment. And I call on the president of the United States to end this now.

'Mr President, tear down these prison walls. Let our little boys have their father. Free Julian, free the press, free us all.' 

Meanwhile, Mexico offered political asylum to Mr Assange on Monday afternoon. The country's president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said: 'I'm going to ask the foreign minister to carry out the relevant procedures to request that the UK government releases Mr Assange and that Mexico offers him political asylum.'

He said Mexico would ensure 'that whoever receives asylum does not intervene or interfere in the political affairs of any country.' The country has previously offered political asylum to high-profile international figures such as former Bolivian president Evo Morales.

Mr Assange's supporters were overjoyed at the decision not to extradite him to the United States but expressed dismay that the ruling was made on health grounds rather than in defence of freedom of expression. 

The activist has been backed by a raft of celebrities including Pamela Anderson, artist Al Weiwei and designer Dame Vivienne Westwood.  

Assange's mother, Christine urged the US not to appeal, saying her son had suffered enough. 

She tweeted: 'UK Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled against extraditing my son Julian to the US on medical grounds.

'US prosecutors state they will appeal. I implore Pres Trump & Pres elect Biden to order them to stand down. The decade long process was the punishment. He has suffered enough.'    

Conservative MP David Davis said: 'Good news Julian Assange's extradition has been blocked. Extradition treaties should not be used for political prosecutions.'

Former UK Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose brother, Piers, was outside the Old Bailey today, said: 'Good news that the extradition of Julian Assange has been refused - my congratulations to him and his legal team. Extradition would be an attack on press freedom.

'And it is alarming that the judge has accepted US government arguments threatening freedom of speech and freedom to publish. There remains much at stake in his case, which is being observed by so many around the world. Assange should be released.'  

But the journalist Glenn Greenwald added a note of caution, saying the judge had endorsed most of the arguments put forward by the US in favour of extradition - including dismissing the idea that it was an attack on freedom of speech. 

He said: 'This wasn't a victory for press freedom. Quite the contrary: the judge made clear she believed there are grounds to prosecute Assange in connection with the 2010 publication. It was, instead, an indictment of the insanely oppressive US prison system for security 'threats.' 

Meanwhile, Edward Snowden - the whistleblower who worked with Wikileaks and is currently living in Russia after leaking US surveillance secrets - called for an end to the proceedings, tweeting: 'Let this be the end of it.' 

Amnesty International tweeted: 'We welcome the fact that Julian Assange will not be sent to the USA, but this does not absolve the UK from having engaged in this politically-motivated process at the behest of the USA and putting media freedom and freedom of expression on trial.' 

Assange, 49, faces an 18-count indictment, alleging a plot to hack computers and a conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information

Assange, 49, faces an 18-count indictment, alleging a plot to hack computers and a conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information 

Assange supporters celebrating outside the Old Bailey today after he was spared from being sent for trial in the United States

Assange supporters celebrating outside the Old Bailey today after he was spared from being sent for trial in the United States  

How Assange is being defended by celebrity lawyer Jennifer Robinson

Jennifer Robinson, a key member of Assange's defence team, is the go-to barrister for the rich and famous, most recently walking hand in hand with actress Amber Heard in her showdown against her ex-husband Johnny Depp in his acrimonious libel trial.

She counts the Hollywood elite among her inner circle, travelling to George and Amal Clooney's wedding on a speedboat with actor Bill Murray.

A self-confessed Kyle Minogue fan, who has 'nothing in her fridge but Champagne' , the human rights lawyer once set headlines alight after she was spotted canoodling with Jeremy Corbyn's former spin doctor, Seumas Milne.

Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson (left) with Assange's partner Stella Moris (right) at an earlier Old Bailey hearing

Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson with Assange's partner Stella Moris at an earlier Old Bailey hearing

Ms Robinson and Mr Milne - a then-married father-of-two - were photographed in a passionate embrace on the terrace of the Courthouse hotel in East London in 2017. The 39-year-old, who came from humble beginnings in Australia, has been known to use her social media as an outlet to criticise the Tories on their human rights record and tweet support for Corbyn.

Less is known about Vanessa Baraitser, the district judge overseeing Assange's case. 

She appears to be a specialist in extradition cases and last year gave the go ahead for an associate of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to be returned to France for trial. 

Alexandre Djouhri, who was arrested at Heathrow last year after arriving on a flight from his Swiss home, and is accused by French prosecutors of nine offences relating to money laundering and corruption. These are alleged to have been committed in circumstances connected to Mr Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign.   

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser delivering her verdict today

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser delivering her verdict today 

Judge Baraitser ruled that Assange risked being held under Special Administrative Measures , which would have seen him in solitary confinement with limited access to family and only two phone calls per month.

She said: 'Faced with the conditions of near total isolation without the protective factors which limited his risk at HMP Belmarsh, I am satisfied the procedures described by the US will not prevent Mr Assange from finding a way to commit suicide and for this reason I have decided extradition would be oppressive by reason of mental harm and I order his discharge.

'Despite his lighter spirit at times, he's a depressed and sometimes despairing man who is genuinely fearful of his future. He represents an unmanageable high risk of suicide, both in Belmarsh and the US.'

She revealed that in 1991 Mr Assange had tried to take his own life and that there was a history of depression in the family.

His maternal grandmother and uncle both died by suicide, and Assange phoned the Samaritans most nights while in jail. 

Mr Assange had been charged under the US's 1917 Espionage Act for conspiring with Chelsea Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst, to hack into a Pentagon computer network and publish secret documents related to 'national defence.'

The WikiLeaks founder faced a total of 18 charges and was also accused of putting the lives of US informants at risk by publishing the material.

Assange has been locked in a bitter dispute with US authorities since July 2010 when WikiLeaks started publishing hundreds of thousands of classified US military and political documents from the Afghan and Iraq wars.

As US officials pursued him through the British courts, in June 2012, Assange entered the Ecuadorian embassy, requesting political asylum, which was granted two months later.

Assange remained holed up at the embassy until April 2019 when Ecuador revoked his asylum status, leading to his arrest and kickstarting a legal battle that culminated in today's judgment.

During his time in the embassy, the WikiLeaks founder fathered two children with his partner Stella Morris.

For the past 19 months, Assange has been held at Belmarsh top security jail.

He first appeared at the Old Bailey last February, but the case was pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic.

If Assange had stood trial in the US, he faced a possible 175 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

The controversial WikiLeaks founder has attracted a number of high-profile supporters including Pamela Anderson and Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, who visited him at the Ecuadorian embassy.

Others to have lent their support include the artist Al Weiwei and designer Dame Vivienne Westwood.

Assange was represented at his Old Bailey trial last year by eminent lawyer Jennifer Robinson.

The court head extraordinary details of the lengths US authorities were prepared to go to ensure that Assange stood trial in the country.

This included hiring a US security contractor to bug Assange's meetings in the Ecuadorian embassy and even a possible kidnap or poison plot to end the stalemate.

Judge Baraitser heard that if convicted, Assange faced the prospect of being held in a Supermax ADX facility in Colorado, where convicted terrorist Abu Hamza has been housed under Sams in solitary confinement.

Psychiatrists for the defence said Assange had suffered from severe depression and was a high suicide risk.

But lawyers for the US Government claimed that the prospect of Assange being held under Sams was 'speculative' and the sentence was likely to be much lower.

Chelsea Manning had been sentenced to 35 years over her role in leaking classified material but was given clemency after seven years.

However, she was jailed again for contempt in 2019 and fined for refusing to testify in court about Assange.   

Stella Moris, the mother of Julian Assange's children, Max and Gabriel (pictured left and right) this weekend said Britain 'would no longer be a haven for free speech' if he was extradited

Stella Moris, the mother of Julian Assange's children, Max and Gabriel (pictured left and right) this weekend said Britain 'would no longer be a haven for free speech' if he was extradited

A prison van - most likely carrying Assange - is seen coming into the Old Bailey for today's hearing 

Timeline: Julian Assange's long legal battle 

2006

Assange creates Wikileaks with a group of like-minded activists and IT experts to provide a secure way for whistleblowers to leak information. He quickly becomes its figurehead and a lightning rod for criticism.

2010

March: U.S. authorities allege Assange engaged in a conspiracy to hack a classified U.S. government computer with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. 

July: Wikileaks starts releasing tens of thousands of top secrets documents, including a video of U.S. helicopter pilots gunning down 12 civilians in Baghdad in 2007.  What followed was the release of more than 90,000 classified US military files from the Afghan war and 400,000 from Iraq that included the names of informants. 

August: Two Swedish women claim that they each had consensual sex with Assange in separate instances when he was on a 10-day trip to Stockholm. They allege the sex became non-consensual when Assange refused to wear a condom.

First woman claims Assange was staying at her apartment in Stockholm when he ripped off her clothes. She told police that when she realized Assange was trying to have unprotected sex with her, she demanded he use a condom. She claims he ripped the condom before having sex.

Second Swedish woman claims she had sex with Assange at her apartment in Stockholm and she made him wear a condom. She alleges that she later woke up to find Assange having unprotected sex with her.

He was questioned by police in Stockholm and denied the allegations. Assange was granted permission by Swedish authorities to fly back to the U.K.  

November: A Swedish court ruled that the investigation should be reopened and Assange should be detained for questioning on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion. An international arrest warrant is issued by Swedish police through Interpol.

Wikileaks releases its cache of more than 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables.  

December: Assange presents himself to London police and appears at an extradition hearing where he is remanded in custody. Assange is granted conditional bail at the High Court in London after his supporters pay £240,000 in cash and sureties.

2011

February: A British judge rules Assange should be extradited to Sweden but Wikileaks found vows to fight the decision.

April:  A cache of classified U.S. military documents is released by Wikileaks, including intelligence assessments on nearly all of the 779 people who are detained at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

November: Assange loses High Court appeal against the decision to extradite him.

2012

June: Assange enters the Ecuadorian embassy in London requesting political asylum. 

August: Assange is granted political asylum by Ecuador.

2013

June: Assange tells a group of journalists he will not leave the embassy even if sex charges against him are dropped out of fear he will be extradited to the U.S.

2015

August: Swedish prosecutors drop investigation into some of the sex allegations against Assange due to time restrictions. The investigation into suspected rape remains active.

2016

July: Wikileaks begins leaking emails U.S. Democratic Party officials favoring Hillary Clinton.

November: Assange is questioned over the sex allegation at the Ecuadorian Embassy in the presence of Sweden's assistant prosecutor Ingrid Isgren and police inspector Cecilia Redell. The interview spans two days. 

2017

January: Barack Obama agrees to free whistleblower Chelsea Manning from prison. Her pending release prompts speculation Assange will end his self-imposed exile after Wikileaks tweeted he would agree to U.S. extradition.

April: Lenin Moreno becomes the new president of Ecuador who was known to want to improve diplomatic relations between his country and the U.S. 

May: An investigation into a sex allegation against Assange is suddenly dropped by Swedish prosecutors. 

2018

January: Ecuador confirms it has granted citizenship to Assange following his request. 

February: Assange is visited by Pamela Anderson and Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel.

March: The Ecuadorian Embassy suspends Assange's internet access because he wasn't complying with a promise he made the previous year to 'not send messages which entailed interference in relation to other states'.


August: U.S. Senate committee asks to interview Assange as part of their investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

September: Assange steps down as editor of WikiLeaks.

October: Assange reveals he will launch legal action against the government of Ecuador, accusing it of violating his 'fundamental rights and freedoms'.

November: U.S. Justice Department inadvertently names Assange in a court document that says he has been charged in secret. 

2019

January: Assange's lawyers say they are taking action to make President Trump's administration reveal charges 'secretly filed' against him.

April 6: WikiLeaks tweets that a high level Ecuadorian source has told them Assange will be expelled from the embassy within 'hours or days'. But a senior Ecuadorian official says no decision has been made to remove him from the London building. 

April 11: Assange has his diplomatic asylum revoked by Ecuador and he is arrested by the Metropolitan Police; he is remanded in custody by a judge at Westminster Magistrates Court.

April 12: He is found guilty of breaching his bail terms.

May 1: Sentenced to 11 months in jail.

May 2: Court hearing takes place over Assange's proposed extradition to the U.S. He tells a court he does not consent to the extradition and the case is adjourned until May 30.

May 13: Swedish prosecutors reopen rape case saying they still want to question Assange. 

June 3: Swedish court rules against detaining him in absentia, setting back the extradition case.

June 12 Home Secretary Sajid Javid signs an extradition request from the US.

June 13 A hearing sets out the date for Assange's full extradition hearing - February next year.

November  Swedish prosecutors stop investigation into an allegation of rape against Mr Assange 

November 25 - Medics say without correct medical care Assange 'could die' in Belmarsh 

December 13 -  Hearing in London hears he is being blocked from seeing key evidence in case

December 19 - Appears at Westminster Magistrates' Court via video-link where his lawyer claims US bid to extradite him is 'political'. 

2020   

February 24 -Assange faces an extradition hearing at Woolwich Crown Court.

Assange's representatives argue he cannot legally be handed to the US for 'political offences' because of a 2003 extradition treaty.

March 2 - Assange appears by video link at Westminster Magistrates' Court, where he is refused bail amid the coronavirus crisis.

April 11 - Stella Moris, Assange's partner, who gave birth to his two children while he was living inside the Ecuadorian embassy, issues a plea for his release amid fears for his health.

June 24 - The US Department of Justice issues an updated 18-count indictment, over Assange's alleged role in 'one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States'.

August 25 - Ms Moris visits her partner in Belmarsh prison for the first time in almost six months.

September 7 - Assange's extradition hearings resume at the Old Bailey. They are expected to go on for up to four weeks.

October 1 - Judge Vanessa Baraitser adjourned the case at the Old Bailey until January 4. 

January 4 - Judge Baraitser strikes down US extradition bid. 

Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o