London: A British judge said Monday that ‘WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange must attend his next court hearing. If Julian Assange doesn’t do so he will have to provide medical evidence to support his absence. Lawyers for Assange said he could not attend the latest hearing on his US extradition case by video link from prison. He had some valid medical reasons for his absence.
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser set another hearing date of July 27. She said Assange must appear ‘unless there is medical evidence’ to explain his non-attendance.
The 48-year-old Australian has been indicted in the US on 18 charges over the publication of classified documents. Prosecutors say he conspired with US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. He did so to crack a password and hack into a Pentagon computer. Then he released secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Also read: https://www.orissapost.com/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-faces-fresh-indictment-in-us/
Last week the US Justice Department added a new, superseding, indictment. It alleges Assange conspired with members of hacking organisations and sought to recruit hackers to provide WikiLeaks with classified information. The indictment does not add any new charges, but broadens the allegations against Assange.
Assange was arrested last year after being evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy here. He had sought refuge to avoid being sent to Sweden over allegations of rape and sexual assault.
Assange is in the Belmarsh Prison here awaiting a full extradition hearing. It has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Originally due to begin in May, it is now scheduled to start September 7.