The main extradition hearing is scheduled to begin on 24 February
2020 at Woolwich Crown Court
WHEN: 10am Thursday 23 January
WHERE: Westminster Magistrates’ Court, 181 Marylebone Road, London NW1
WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, who is fighting extradition to the
United States in an unprecedented Espionage Act prosecution for
journalistic activity, has a case management hearing this Thursday 23
January.
This will be the last significant court date before the full
extradition hearing opens on 24 February 2020 at Woolwich Crown Court.
Assange will participate in Thursday’s hearing by videolink.
Assange’s full extradition hearing is expected to last three or four
weeks. The defence has indicated that it will raise arguments about the
politicised nature of the US prosecution, Assange’s health and the
implications of pervasive surveillance for legal privilege and the
right to a fair trial.
Thursday’s case management hearing is expected to confirm the amount of
time that will be given to each of these arguments and whether there
will be a break after the first two weeks of the main extradition
hearing.
Tens of thousands of pages of evidence have now been submitted by
Assange’s legal team. The defence has proposed 21 witnesses to the
court, 16 of whom may be called in February.
Assange remains in custody on the medical ward at HMP Belmarsh. Since
22 September 2019 Assange has been detained solely for the purposes of
the US extradition request. An open letter from 60 medical
professionals has called for Assange’s transfer to a university
teaching hospital. [1]
The implications of the case are attracting considerable interest
internationally. Twenty five elected politicians from twelve countries
across the European Union have resolved to monitor proceedings.
Delegations from Germany, Italy and the European Parliament will travel
to London to monitor the main extradition hearing in February 2020. [2]
Julian Assange has been charged in the Eastern District of Virginia
with 17 counts under the 1917 Espionage Act, all related to WikiLeaks
publications of 2010-11. He also faces a further conspiracy charge
related to journalist-source communications. EDVA is a judicial
district located in the greater Washington DC metropolitan area.