CGTN | Updated: 2021-01-06 14:20 Share CLOSE WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange leaves Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Jan 13, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]
Editor s note: Bradley Blankenship is a Prague-based American journalist, political analyst and freelance reporter. The article reflects the author s opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
A British court on January 4 denied a request by the United States to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on 18 federal counts, namely illegally obtaining and sharing classified material related to national security. The move came as a surprise and was welcomed by activists, not without good reason given the unjust circumstances, but the legal reasoning behind the refusal is a step in the wrong direction.
Julian Assange should not be released on bail while he waits for the United States to launch an appeal to extradite him, a British judge has ruled.
The decision means the WikiLeaks founder will continue to be held in Belmarsh Prison in London, where he has been detained for more than a year.
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser, who also ruled this week that the 49-year-old should not be sent back to the US, denied the bail request on Wednesday, saying there were still reasonable grounds to believe he could escape.
She cited Assange s track record as one such reason, including the time he famously skipped bail in 2012 while awaiting a decision on another extradition request involving Sweden. In this case, Assange sought asylum with Ecuador and ultimately spent the next seven years living in the embassy building in London.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will have to remain in custody, pending a US appeal that blocked his extradition to face charges for leaking secret documents, a judge ruled on Wednesday.
Judge Vanessa Baraitser told Westminster Magistrates Court: I am satisfied that there are substantial grounds for believing that if Mr Assange is released today he will fail to surrender to the court to face the appellant proceedings.
17-year-old charged with six terrorism offenses
A UK court has charged a 17-year-old teenage boy with six terrorism offenses. The teenager, from Essex in southeastern
| 6 Jan 2021 5:35 AM GMT
A UK court has charged a 17-year-old teenage boy with six terrorism offenses. The teenager, from Essex in southeastern England, cannot be named because of his age, reports Xinhua news agency. He appeared via video link before the Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Monday. He is being held on remand to appear at the Old Bailey Central Criminal Court on January 22. He was charged with the six terrorism offenses following an investigation led by Counter Terrorism Policing North East (CTP), supported by Eastern Region Special Operations Unit and Essex Police. The CTP said the teen was arrested and detained under the Terrorism Act on December 29, 2020, as part of a pre-planned, intelligence-led operation. Two homes in Chelmsford and Brentwood in Essex were searched in connection with