CPJ warns Assange extradition would be blow to press freedom

Washington, D.C., February 20, 2024—As the two-day hearing of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s appeal against extradition from Britain to the United States opened in London on Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists warned that extraditing Assange would set a dangerous precedent for media freedom.

“Assange’s lengthy legal battle could come to an end if the U.S. Justice Department halted its dogged attempts to extradite the Wikileaks founder and dropped all charges against him,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg in New York. “Assange’s prosecution in the U.S. would have disastrous implications for press freedom both in the U.S. and globally.”

If extradited and convicted in the U.S., Assange faces up to 175 years in prison on 18 charges under both the Espionage Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.