Nobel laureate urges journalists to publish US documents after Assange extradition order

LONDON

A Nobel Peace laureate on Thursday urged all media and journalists with “civic courage” to publish US documents that show violations of human and peoples’ rights.

The letter by 1980 Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel underlined a British court decision Wednesday to extradite WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange, saying: “This decision leads to a death sentence for defending freedom of the press.”

Esquivel wrote: “We call on all media, journalists who fight for freedom to speak out and demand the freedom of Julian Assange who with civic courage, publishes US documents that violate human and peoples’ rights.

“Allowing Julian to be extradited is a threat to freedom of the press and a grave warning to those who question the repressive policies and serious violations of human and peoples’ rights committed by the United States.”

The Argentine Nobel laureate further said: “Julian Assange is a victim of US policy of oppression for defending freedom of the press. We reject the decision of the British justice system and demand the freedom of Julian Assange.”

A British court on Wednesday issued a formal order to extradite Assange to the US to face espionage charges.

The final decision on the extradition will be made by Home Secretary Priti Patel next month, which Assange will be able to appeal at the High Court if she goes ahead with a decision of extradition.

Assange will face 18 counts of hacking the US government computers and violating the espionage law if he is extradited to the US and a potential prison sentence for years. He may face a prison term of up to 175 years.

The 50-year-old was dragged out of Ecuador’s embassy building in London in 2019, where he took refuge for more than seven years.

The British police arrested him for skipping his bail in 2012 and on behalf of the US due to an extradition warrant.