Suggestions of a plea deal have raised hopes that America’s battle to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could come to an end. Political extradition is explicitly banned under the UK-U.S. Extradition Treaty, but for years, the handing over of Mr. Assange due to the leaking of U.S. government documents has appeared imminent. Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens, one of the very few British journalists to have campaigned loudly and regularly in Mr. Assange’s favour, recently predicted that “by the time most of us have realised what has happened, it will be over.”
Mr. Assange has been held in Belmarsh Prison since 2019. Before this, he spent almost seven years at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he had been granted political asylum. Many have warned that should Assange be handed over to Washington, he will face far from desirable conditions. Mr. Hitchens says “he will face the strong possibility of decades buried alive in some federal dungeon, the sort of place intended for mass murderers or terrorists.”
But few are surprised that the British Conservative Party has not been a true friend of Mr. Assange. Then-Home Secretary Priti Patel last year approved his extradition to the U.S., a decision that WikiLeaks said the government ought to be “deeply ashamed” of.
The fight against this move continues, and it is Australia—Mr. Assange’s home country—that appears now to be among his most trusted allies.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged Washington to end its pursuit of Mr. Assange, insisting that free journalism is “essential to democracy.” He added:
My position is clear and has been made clear to the U.S. administration—that it is time that this matter be brought to a close.
It is the American ambassador to Australia who has also pointed to a possible route out of this political drama. Caroline Kennedy, cited in The Times, has suggested the downgrading of the current espionage charges against Mr. Assange in exchange for a guilty plea. This would take into account the four years he has already spent in a British prison. Although the remaining years of a sentence imposed by the U.S. could be served in Australia under such a deal, it is expected that Mr. Assange would have to travel to the U.S. to plead guilty in the first case, which one international law expert sees as a “significant sticking point” for the Wikileaks publisher. Donald Rothwell from the Australian National University noted:
It’s not possible to strike a plea deal outside the relevant jurisdiction except in the most exceptional circumstances.
At this stage, however, it is a victory just to keep the conversation going, given how little most people in Britain, where Mr. Assange remains trapped, know—nevermind care—about this case: not least those who are in charge.
