In a bid to stop WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange from being extradited to Sweden to face trial on sexual assault charges, his lawyer in Britain has appealed to the Australian government to come to his aid.
Assange is formally an Australian citizen. In an interview to Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) ‘Lateline’ programme, human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson, who is advising Assange, said his client had a right to expect his government to intervene.
Assange is facing two counts of rape/sexual assault charges. His supporters and he argue his extradition to Sweden is more likely to see him sent to America, where government prosecutors are building a case against him for leaking sensitive US diplomatic cables. Leading American politicians, including the country’s vice-President, Joseph Biden, have branded Assange a ‘cyber terrorist’.
“I think Canberra may have to do something. It's got a duty to help Australians in peril in foreign courts,” Robertson told ABC. “If he goes to Sweden, there is the concern that he may be more vulnerable to extradition to America.”
Yesterday, a two-judge panel at a British high court upheld a magistrate court’s order of February to extradite Assange to Sweden. Assange’s defence team has maintained the European Arrest Warrant issued in Sweden came from a prosecutor and not a court and, hence, wasn’t valid.
“He's going to be tried in secret, and this is outrageous by our standards and by any standards. It'll be secret justice. (In Sweden) they hold rape trials customarily in secret. The allegations against him (have) been blasted around the world and the world won't see how he refutes them. They don't have a jury, they have a judge and two retired hack politicians, one from each party...and both parties have been critical of him. It's hardly a fair trial,” Robertson told ABC.
According to British law, Assange has 14 days, starting yesterday, to appeal the high court’s ruling. The right to appeal would need prior convincing of the Supreme Court that there is a legal basis for challenging the verdict.