The wife of Julian Assange has warned that extraditing him from Britain to the US 'would kill him'.
Stella Assange was speaking to The Pat Kenny Show after the UK High Court ruled that the WikiLeaks founder cannot immediately be extradited on espionage charges.
A further hearing will now be held in May unless the US can give further assurances about what will happen to him if he is handed over.
American prosecutors allege the 52-year-old encouraged and helped US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to steal diplomatic cables and military files that were later published on WikiLeaks.
File photo of Julian Assange, 11-4-19. Image: PA Images / AlamyLast week, UK judges dismissed most of Assange's legal arguments, but warned that unless assurances were given by the US, he would be able to bring an appeal on three grounds, including breach of freedom of expression and because he might receive the death penalty.
They said US authorities had three weeks to give those assurances, with a final decision to be made in late May.
Stella Assange told Pat that the couple don't view the ruling as a victory.
"A victory in the sense that yes, the court recognises that there's a very good chance Julian would win an appeal on three points, she said.
"But rather than allow this appeal to go forward, it has invited the United States to modify its arguments so that the United States can have a better chance to extradite him".
US authorities have promised Assange would not receive capital punishment, but the judges said it is "conceivable that the assurance might be interpreted narrowly by the respondent, so as not to preclude the imposition of the death penalty".
'Simply not reliable'
Mrs Assange said they cannot trust assurances from the US.
"These promises, so-called assurances, are unenforceable by the UK once Julian is on US soil," she said.
"The US is simply not a reliable party in this case.
"We know from its previous conduct that it has acted in bad faith in relation to Julian, that there were plans to assassinate him even under the previous administration".
Mrs Assange said the US and UK are "both violating" their own extradition agreement in the case of her husband.
"Where there is political will to do something to the detriment of an individual - in this case Julian - then they'll just go ahead and do it," she said.
"Then they can say, 'Take it up in the courts in a few years' time' [and] by that time, the harm has already been done.
"Julian is not protected by any assurances given by the United States".
Stella Assange, wife of Julian Assange, addresses supporters gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, 20-2-24. Image: Ron Fassbender / AlamyMrs Assange said her husband would not survive in a US prison.
"Serving out a sentence would only be post-conviction, so if Julian wanted to appeal a sentence, then that could take years," she said.
"The whole time he would be in conditions of extreme isolation.
"He's in isolated conditions in Belmarsh [Prison] but at least he can call me throughout the day, he can receive visits twice a week or so, he can see his lawyers."
Mrs Assange said any conditions in the US would be much worse.
"That would not be the case in the United States – he would be in a hellhole and he simply wouldn't be able to survive it," she said.
"He's already in a very difficult, deteriorated state physically and also mentally of course.
"He's endured so much and the extradition itself would kill him, so it's not realistic to think he would survive if he was extradited".
'Political prisoner'
Mrs Assange said any trial in the US would be used as a deterrent to others.
"The purpose isn't just to put him on trial but to parade him as a political prisoner, essentially, to show him off," she said.
"If you embarrass the powers that be, this is what will happen to you."
She said it would be a "deterrent" for other journalists, publishers and whistleblowers.
"The trial I think is just one aspect but of course the trial would be for charges under the Espionage Act," she said.
"It's the first time that a publisher is charged under the Espionage Act.
"The act itself, which has existed for more than 100 years, has never been used in a journalistic context".
Next steps
Mrs Assange said her husband has no prospect of a fair trial in the US.
"He can't invoke a public interest defence because there is no such defence," she said.
"They're saying because he's an Australian citizen - he's not American - he doesn't have First Amendment rights [to freedom of speech].
"That's what the prosecutors have already argued in court.
"The British courts now are seeking an assurance that the nationality issue be addressed by the US Government".
Mrs Assange said if the British courts are satisfied with the US assurances and extradition moves ahead, her husband would then appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
She added that even if the UK courts reject the US assurances, her husband cannot travel "as long as the case remains live in the United States".
She said the solution is for the US to drop the case adding that "this is something that President Biden should have done from day one".
