According to the latest reports, it seems that the charges against Julian Assange could be dropped ahead of the new court hearing date on May 20. Here’s what happened with this important case.
Julian Assange’s case gets important news
Wikileaks shared on their X account that there’s still a chance that the charges against Julian Assange could be dropped ahead of his new hearing.
BREAKING: Coalition of US civil society organizations urge US to drop charges against Julian Assange ahead of May 20 court date #FreeAssangeNOW
“This entire legal process could and should be swiftly ended if the Justice Dept. were to drop the charges”https://t.co/yEt6Jiy2mC pic.twitter.com/uoOhdqVE5W
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) May 17, 2024
They posted that the Coalition of US civil society organizations urged US to drop charges against him.
“This entire legal process could and should be swiftly ended if the Justice Dept. were to drop the charges.”
The original notes on CPJ.org show that The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with a coalition of civil society organizations, has urged the United States Department of Justice to drop charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Assange is currently being held in the U.K. pending a hearing on May 20. This hearing will determine whether Assange is extradited to the U.S.
In 2019, U.S. prosecutors indicted Assange on 17 criminal charges under the Espionage Act and a separate charge under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) in connection with WikiLeaks’ publication of thousands of leaked military and diplomatic documents.
Assange’s lawyers have stated that he faces up to 175 years in prison, although U.S. prosecutors have claimed the sentence would be much shorter. The statement warned that the prosecution of Assange under these charges would have a chilling effect on press freedom globally.
You can check out the complete notes here.
On April 10, I was reporting that BBC noted that US President Joe Biden has said that he is considering Australia’s request to drop the prosecution of WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange.
Recently, the parliament of the country passed a measure endorsed by PM Anthony Albanese, which calls for the return of Assange to his home country, Australia. The United States is seeking Assange’s extradition from the UK on criminal charges related to the disclosure of military records. However, Assange has denied these charges and claims that the leaks were an act of journalism.
