by Brayden Yee
The controversial co-founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange will be extradited to the US, ending a nearly decade-long chase to get him arrested. Assange has been the center of controversy from the publication of classified documents to multiple allegations of sexual assault. Assange may be extradited to the United States soon, where he will face up to 175 years in prison if convicted of espionage.
During his early life, Assange demonstrated his ability with computers, hacking multiple secure systems during his teenage years, such as NASA and the Pentagon. While he did confess to numerous acts of cybercrime, Assange only received a small fine as a punishment, with the judge citing that his crimes were likely due to juvenile curiosity. Later on, in 2006, Assange created WikiLeaks, meant to be a place to distribute sensitive and classified documents. WikiLeaks published multiple articles containing classified government information, including one detailing the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.
By 2010, about 500,000 military documents had been published on WikiLeaks. While most of the documents were already public, President Barack Obama’s administration criticized Assange, stating that the publications threatened national security. Later on, in November, WikiLeaks published around 250,000 confidential US diplomatic cables, which mostly ranged from the period 2007 to 2010. Chelsea Manning, a U.S Army intelligence analyst, helped provide Assange with thousands of classified documents through the internet. Such documents included a video of an apache strike that killed Iraqi insurgents, and 2 Reuters photographers. International governments criticized the publication, with many American politicians calling for the pursuit of Assange as a terrorist.
Assange also faced multiple sexual assault charges in 2010, when he was threatened to be extradited to Sweden. After a legal battle falling short, the UK supreme court ruled in May of 2012 that Assange should be extradited to Sweden where he would be questioned for his actions. Assange was then granted asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, citing that his human rights may be violated if he was extradited. 3 years later, in 2015, Swedish prosecutors dropped their investigation into Assange due to running out of time to question him.
During his time in the Ecuadorian embassy, Assange played a role in the 2016 US presidential election. WikiLeaks published internal communications from the Democratic Party, targeting Hillary Clinton. Assange made it clear that he was against Clinton’s campaign but denied that the information had come from Russia, despite plausible evidence.
Assange’s asylum was revoked by Ecuador in 2019, citing multiple violations of international law, as well as violating terms for his tenure in the embassy. After an agreement was signed by the British government pledging to not send Assange to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty, President of Ecuador Lenín Moreno allowed the British police to arrest Assange in the embassy. Assange was detained for “failing to surrender to the court” in 2012 and was subsequently sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for breaching bail conditions.
Assange was ordered by a British court to be extradited to the US to face charges of espionage. Assange is wanted in the US for 18 criminal charges pertaining to the leaked documents relating to the wars in Iraq, and Afghanistan. Assange has maintained that he’s done nothing wrong, citing that WikiLeaks was scientific journalism, and stating that publishing the articles was within his rights to free speech. In addition, Assange has been indicted in 2019 for violating the Espionage Act. In a controversial decision, the Trump administration decided to press additional charges on Assange, raising questions about freedom of speech. Many supporters of Assange have argued that charging him for violating the Espionage Act is a violation of his first amendment rights. If Assange is convicted, it may serve as a dangerous warning for journalists across the nation to be more careful about what is published.
Julian Assange’s case has been developing for over a decade. With the WikiLeaks co-founder finding himself facing up to 175 years in prison for espionage. While Assange has maintained that he had done nothing wrong, it is unknown how the case will unfold.
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