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ANGE:

From Schwartz Media, I’m Ange McCormack. This is 7am.

Julian Assange has spent years fighting to prevent his extradition to the United States… and this week the battle has come down to just two days in court… when his lawyers made what could be their final stand.

The UK High Court now holds his fate in its hands, as it considers his request for an appeal.

So, while supporters anxiously await the judges’ ruling, what lies ahead for Julian Assange?

Today, contributor to The Saturday Paper Amy Fallon, on what the court heard, and how mounting public and political support is helping the Australian’s cause.

It’s Friday, February 23.

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ANGE:

Amy, so you're in London at the moment, covering Julian Assange's final legal attempt to fight his extradition to the US. What's it been like over there as this really consequential case has been heard?

AMY:

So the first day there were hundreds and hundreds of people outside the court. Supporters had been up since 5am tied golden ribbons for Assange, thousands of them, around the court.

Audio excerpt – Crowd:

“Free Julian Assange! Free Julian Assange!”

AMY:

And there were a number of key supporters also, Julian Assange’s family, Stella Assange his wife and mother of his two children, and his father John and his brother Gabriel.

Outside the court, I came across a young Australian, Jayden Gilbey, who is 24. He's a teacher from Alice Springs.

Audio excerpt – Jayden Gilbey:

“As an Australian, I think we have the responsibility to adopt one of our own citizens, one of our fellow countrymen when they're in trouble. And I've come purely on the basis of that.”

Audio excerpt – Amy Fallon:

“So when did you get here?”

Audio excerpt – Jayden Gilbey:

“Two days ago.”

AMY:

He was there because Julian was an award winning journalist, and he said that he urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Australia's ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd, to really take action on the case.

Audio excerpt – Jayden Gilbey:

“I'm from a small, small place in Australia. I don't really see that support. But to be amongst all of these people today. Yeah, from every part of the world. It's very inspiring.”

AMY:

So over the past two days, as happens with most Julian Assange court hearings, there's been an amazing roll call of high profile speakers, everyone from independent UK MP and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is a staunch supporter.

Audio excerpt – Jeremy Corbyn:

“So we're here today in support of Julian. We're here tomorrow in support of Julian. And I say to the court, very gently and very persuasively, whatever, whatever your decision, we ain't going away. We are supporting Julian as long as it takes.”

AMY:

There's also been Richard Burgon, who is a Labour MP who is a supporter.

Audio excerpt – Richard Burgon:

“Why is Julian Assange being robbed of his freedom? Why is Julian Assange being robbed of his family life? Why is Stella being robbed of her husband? Why are their children being robbed of their father? The reason that they've been robbed unjustly of all of these things is because Julian Assange spoke the truth to power.”

AMY:

And Stella herself spoke, at the end of the two days at Downing Street after a march, and she said that she had relayed to Julian how much media support there had been,

Audio excerpt – Stella Assange:

“Every time I got to court, I was greeted by this incredible, supportive crowd that was cheering us on. And, I told Julian all about how much support he has and also how much attention the media has given this case this time around. The world is watching.”

ANGE:

Let's get into what happened in court this week. The, you know, last ditch legal challenge from Julian Assange began on Tuesday. What do we hear from Assange's team about why he should be given permission to appeal his extradition to the US? How did they make that argument?

AMY:

First of all, Julian wasn't present as he was too unwell to even attend via video link. And the legal arguments on the first day centred around the issue of extradition on political offences. So Edward Fitzgerald for Assange put forward to the judges that exception to political offences is included in almost every single international treaty over signed by the UK.

And then the subject of, former CIA director Mike Pompeo and, a speech in 2017 where he called WikiLeaks a non-state hostile intelligence service.

Audio excerpt – Mike Pompeo:

“WikiLeaks walks like a hostile intelligence service and talks like a hostile intelligence service, and has encouraged its followers to find jobs at the CIA in order to obtain intelligence. It's time to call out WikiLeaks for what it really is, a non-state hostile intelligence service, often abetted by state actors like Russia.”

AMY:

Which makes it obvious that the work is in an offence directed at the state and clearly political also came up. So it was argued that a section of the European Court of Human Rights, or ECHR, is part of English law incorporated by the Human Rights Act and that Julian's rights under this were being breached.

So the court must respect English law and deny Julian's extradition. And the significance of WikiLeaks was also stressed by Marc Summers acting for Julian. He said that there was proof that the U.S. was plotting to either kill or rendition Julian.

Audio excerpt – Channel 4 News Reporter:

“Assange spent much of the last decade seeking asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy. His legal team claimed today they'd seen evidence of a CIA plot to poison him while there.”

AMY:

His lawyers claimed, keep in mind, this is untested evidence that plans were drawn up of such a plot. And they argue Julian is at a real risk of further extrajudicial actions, by the CIA or other agencies, and noted that this risk could be heightened under the real possibility of a second Trump presidency.

So, to sum it up, Mark Summers said the prosecution would be payback for Julian's political opinions and described as a paradigm example of state retaliation for the expression of political opinion.

ANGE:

Right. Okay. So, Assange’s lawyers have been arguing basically that these charges are politically motivated, that he's at serious risk of harm in the U.S. So that's what was put forward by them. How did lawyers representing the U.S. make their argument the next day?

AMY:

So on the second day, the U.S. replied and it was opened by Claire Dobbin, for the U.S., the issue of a district judge not viewing Julian as a John came up, and she put it forward, that Assange poses a very real and significant risk to informants. She argued that the disclosure of the documents damage wire of security agencies and damage work of U.S. forces, it was put forward, to the judge injustice that published disclosures were found in Al-Qaeda and Taliban compounds. And this jeopardised the lives of informants or spies, in China and Syria.

And also, Claire Dobbin argued that he went far beyond the active journalist who was merely gathering information. She maintained that Julian's prosecution is based upon the rule of law and evidence, even though it might be unprecedented, because what he did was unprecedented. And she argued that he knowingly, indiscriminately published, to the world the names of individuals who acted as sources of information to the United States.

She said that this was what set him apart from the New York Times and other publications, and this was at the centre of the prosecution. It was even said, even argued that people had to flee their homes and homelands after identification. Some lost jobs, assets were frozen, disappeared. But there was no evidence of the link here.

And the role of Chelsea Manning's roles also came up. It was said that Julian encouraged her to get more documents, when she didn't have any, and tried to recruit others.

At the end of Wednesday's hearing, Dame Victoria Sharp and Justice Jeremy Johnson said they would give their decision at a later date, but the judgement is not expected before mid-March based on the current court schedule.

ANGE:

After the break - what options Julian Assange is left with.

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ANGE:

Amy, we're awaiting a decision on this challenge. Julian Assange is made to the UK High Court over his extradition to the US. What are the potential outcomes from here on out?

AMY:

So the options are a full appeal. In which case that would drag things on, even further in the UK legal system, although it would be good news. And of course, Julian will still be in Belmarsh prison.

There is so much concern now about Julian's health. Last week, Stella said that although he's only nearly 53, he was ageing really prematurely. He's not well mentally. He's in a cell for over 22 hours a day. He's isolated. She said, you know, even if he paces up and down the cell, there's only so much he can do.

He could, of course, be denied an appeal. Now, there is some concern that the Home Secretary could sign off on the extradition order within days. So there is quite a bit of worry about that. Although what he can do is apply to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. And Julian's camp have always said that they would apply to the ECHR. So those are three options there.

Interestingly, I have been speaking to Nick Vamos, who was the former head of extradition at the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK. He said that going to the ECHR could drag the case on for several more years. While an appeal, if it was granted in the UK. It could also be months.

Of course, though, Julian Assange’s supporters stress that the case is now political, and the solution can only be political, which brings us to the final option is that Julian is pardoned by a US president.

ANGE:

And Amy, only last week a motion was passed in the Australian Parliament to call for the return of Julian Assange. It wasn't unanimously voted for, but members on all sides of politics did support it. What impact has that had on Assange's fight? And I guess how important is political pressure right now?

AMY:

Yes. I have been speaking to the family about this this week. I would say there is, cautious celebration or perhaps cautious optimism about this or, that there are mixed feelings about this. Assange’s brother Gabriel says that this is a step in the right direction and that it's given the campaign new momentum. And, now the Prime Minister has to ram it home to the UK that the people in the Parliament have spoken: they want Julian back.

Audio excerpt – Andrew Wilkie:

“But some common sense has broken out. At least now the Australian Parliament has finally voted, the Australian Prime Minister has finally stood up and given a clear, strong signal to the Americans that enough is enough.”

AMY:

I spoke to independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who moved the motion in support of Julian Assange in Parliament last week, but he said that it was just a fact of politics that together, as far as he got it, he had to remove some sections.

Audio excerpt – Andrew Wilkie:

“This matter must be brought to an end. The extradition must be dropped. The charges must be dropped. He must be busted out of Belmarsh. He must be allowed to be reunited with his family.”

AMY:

So that's why it ended up looking the way that it did. But he said, certainly it wasn't strong. A lot of people, at the court hearing, including himself, would have liked it to have been.

ANGE:

And Amy, if Assange is unsuccessful in this legal challenge, it ends his avenues for appeal in the UK. After that, he could be in the US within days, where his family and supporters say he basically faces a certain death. So we know how high the stakes are for Julian Assange personally.

But what would that fate, if it happens, mean for truth, transparency and, you know, the key principle of journalism, which is to report without fear or favour.

AMY:

Yes, of course Ange. So this is something that WikiLeaks and Reporters Without Borders have really been trying to ram home.

Audio excerpt – Rebecca Vincent (Reporters without Borders):

“Well, what is at stake this week is also what's at stake in the broader case against Julian Assange, which is global journalism and press freedom. And that sounds quite extreme, but we really believe that the implications of this case could be extremely damaging for journalists everywhere.”

AMY:

And people really haven't mince their words on this at all, they've said basically, you know, they can come for anyone that basically the US can come for anyone if they extradite Julian, they're from the UK. They say that it will set the most dangerous precedent for journalists all around the world.

I mean, Stella herself has said to me that every single human rights organisation in the world actually is against this extradition. But they say that if an Australian citizen and publisher in Europe can be imprisoned in the US, not a single journalist anywhere in the world is safe.

ANGE:

Amy, thanks so much for your time today.

AMY:

Thank you so much. It was lovely to talk to you. Thank you for having me.

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ANGE:

Also in the news today …

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Labor won’t move to forcibly break-up major supermarket chains, amid mounting pressure on Woolworths and Coles over claims of price gouging and a lack of competition.

Nationals leader David Littleproud has called for stronger divestiture powers to help increase competition in the sector, but Albanese says a forcible break-up would lead to many workers losing their jobs.

And

A private US moonlander will today attempt to make the first ever touchdown of the moon by a private spacecraft.

The robot lander - dubbed Odysseus and built by US company Intuitive Machines, entered orbit above the lunar surface yesterday, from where it will attempt to land on the Moon’s south pole.

7am is a daily show from The Monthly and The Saturday Paper.

It’s produced by Kara Jensen-Mackinnon, Zoltan Fecso and Cheyne Anderson.

Our senior producer is Chris Dengate. Our technical producer is Atticus Bastow.

Our editor is Scott Mitchell. Sarah McVeigh is our head of audio.

Erik Jensen is our editor-in-chief.

Mixing by Andy Elston, Travis Evans, and Atticus Bastow.

Our theme music is by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan of Envelope Audio.

I’m Ange McCormack, this is 7am. We’ll be back again next week.

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