“It is a great disappointment, but also the occasion, always, to push a cry of alarm on its situation”, responded Antoine Vey, French lawyer for Julian Assange, this Friday, December 10 on franceinfo. Despite his condition “very alert psychological”, according to the lawyer, the High Court of London overturned the refusal to extradite the founder of WikiLeaks, reversing the decision taken at first instance. According to the judges, Washington has provided assurances on the treatment of the whistleblower.
franceinfo: The decision of the day, it is not to decide on the extradition of Julian Assange, but to make it again possible?
Antoine Vey : Today, we stood up with the hope that British justice will put an end to the ordeal that Julian Assange has undergone for almost 11 years. Unfortunately, without wishing to go into legal quibbles here, the British appellate judge upheld an American argument which consists in presenting guarantees in the event of Julian Assange being returned to their system. That cannot satisfy us, being specified that the British judge recognizes all the same that his state of health today does not allow him to face the procedure. We are faced with someone who is suffering and who still finds himself in legal labyrinths whose end we will not yet know.
In your opinion, is Julian Assange the victim of doggedness?
He is being sued for leaking information and when I saw him in London Prison he told us to keep fighting by any legal means possible. So this will go on for a long time yet. But we must not lose sight of the fact that it is essentially a political trial in which he is treated as a terrorist or as an enemy in an armed conflict, which he absolutely is not. He’s a man of peace and he’s a man who just broadcast true information.
What is his state of health?
I saw him about four weeks ago and I have never in my life seen an inmate so weak, so eager to be able to make contacts. He is even truly cut off from the world, with very little connection with the outside world. Of course, he has the family bond of his wife, who does a lot for him, but today he is a man who suffers enormously and his psychological state is very alert. So we appeal to all leaders, to all possible mobilizations of public opinion, to say that his release is possible. It is possible, regardless of the question of extradition. Today, British justice could very well place him under judicial control to save his life. It is obviously a great disappointment, but also the occasion, always, to utter a cry of alarm on his situation.