Judge dismisses concerns about Julian Assange’s mental health as she refuses to allow the Wikileaks co-founder to leave the dock and sit with his lawyers during his extradition trial
- Julian Assange is fighting extradition to US on charges under the Espionage Act
- Lawyer Mark Summers QC applied for him to be allowed to sit with his lawyers
- Assange said he could not follow proceedings or confidentially talk with lawyers
A judge has dismissed concerns about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s mental state and refused to let him to leave the dock and sit with his lawyers when his hearing resumes in May.
Assange, 48, is fighting to avoid being sent to the US on 17 charges under the Espionage Act and conspiracy to commit computer intrusion after the publication of hundreds of thousands of classified documents in 2010 and 2011.
He saluted supporters in the public gallery as the case was adjourned on Thursday afternoon after four days of legal argument at Woolwich Crown Court, which is sitting as a magistrates’ court.
Mark Summers QC, representing Assange, today made a formal application for him to be allowed to leave the glass-enclosed secure dock and sit with his lawyers to hear evidence when the case resumes.
Assange, who lawyers said is taking medication, had complained that he was struggling to follow proceedings or have confidential conversations with his lawyers.
Julian Assange is seen behind a thick glass screen – where he struggles to hear the legal proceedings against him
Mr Summers told Judge Vanessa Baraitser: ‘Mr Assange is a vulnerable person. You are aware of the psychological issues in this case.’
But rejecting the application, Judge Vanessa Baraitser told Assange: ‘I have not been told of any particular aspect of your condition which requires you to leave the dock and sit with your legal team.’
The judge said other measures could be put in place to ensure he could participate, instruct lawyers and get a fair trial.
Assange will next appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court by video-link for a short administrative hearing on March 25 before a case management hearing at Woolwich Crown Court, where he will appear in person on April 7.
The extradition hearing will continue on May 18, with an expected three weeks of evidence, but a decision could take months and is likely to be appealed against by the losing side, whatever the outcome.
Julian Assange (pictured in a prison van in April last year) is fighting to avoid being sent to the US on 17 charges under the Espionage Act and conspiracy to commit computer intrusion after the publication of hundreds of thousands of classified documents in 2010 and 2011
Julian Assange supporters protest outside Woolwich Crown Court in London, 26 February
Assange is accused of encouraging Chelsea Manning to steal classified documents, which allegedly included a bid to crack a password ‘hash’ (a scrambled password) on US department of defence computers to anonymously access a classified network called the Secret Internet Protocol Network.
His lawyers point to evidence given by Manning at her own 2013 court martial, which they say refutes these claims.
Assange also claims he is being mistreated in Belmarsh Prison after being strip-searched twice, handcuffed 11 times and moved from cell-to-cell on the first day of his extradition case yesterday.
Assange’s main barrister, Edward Fitzgerald QC, complained about his client’s treatment inside high-security Belmarsh prison yesterday, at the start of the second day of the hearing today.
Julian Assange would be ‘at risk of suicide’ in an ‘inhuman and degrading’ US jail, says his QC
Julian Assange in the dock as his defence team, Edward Fitzgerald QC (left) and Mark Simmons QC
Julian Assange would be a suicide risk of extradited to the US, his legal team has said.
Edward Fitzgerald QC, representing Assange (together right), outlined the 48-year-old’s defence and called Trump’s pursuit of his client ‘political’.
Mr Fitzgerald said: ‘Prosecution is not motivated by genuine concern for criminal justice but by politics.
‘This extradition should be barred because the prosecution is being pursued for political motives and not in good faith.’
Mr Fitzgerald continued that Assange would be at risk of inhuman and degrading conditions in an American prison, and would be at risk of suicide.
He added the extradition attempt was directed at Assange ‘because of the political opinions he holds’, and said he would be denied a fair trial in the United States.
Mr Fitzgerald continued: ‘It would involve a fundamental denial of his right to a fair trial. It would expose him to inhuman and degrading treatment.’
He added that Assange had not assisted whistleblower Chelsea Manning in accessing the documents, as has been claimed.
Mr Fitzgerald also said the delay in making the extradition request showed the political nature of the case.
He continued: ‘President Trump came into power with a new approach for freedom of the press… amounting effectively to declaring war on investigative journalists.
‘It’s against that background Julian Assange has been made an example of.
‘It’s against that background the Trump administration decided to make an example of Julian Assange, he was the obvious sign of everything Trump condemned.’