Julian Assange’s fight for freedom is far from over
Live MintThe decision to block Julian Assange’s extradition to the U.S. is unlikely to make him a free man anytime soon. “‘He has a very poor history,’ that’s all prosecutors need to say,” extradition lawyer Daniel Sternberg said, referring to Assange’s breach of earlier bails. She said that Assange would face “conditions of significant isolation” in U.S. prison, and cited Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 death as an example of when preventative measures weren’t able to protect inmates from self-harm. “In these harsh conditions, Mr. Assange’s mental health would deteriorate causing him to commit suicide with the ‘single-minded determination’ of his autism-spectrum disorder,” Baraitser said. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Assange could return after his legal case ends, and that consular officials had reached out to him during his detention in the U.K. “He’s like any other Australian: he’s free to return home if he wished,” Morrison said in an interview with Melbourne radio station 3AW.