Extradition cases between the UK and the US can take years to sort out.
Julian Assange arriving at the Supreme Court in London as he fought extradition to Sweden in 2012.
The UK is pursuing Assange’s extradition on behalf of the US government, but extradition cases between the two countries are complex affairs. Assuming the defendant doesn’t agree to surrender and contests the removal, there are not only multiple levels for appeals, but multiple forums, too.
A federal grand jury in Virginia indicted Assange in March 2018 on one count of conspiring to commit computer intrusion by allegedly working with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to leak classified military documents in 2010; prosecutors allege Assange agreed to try to break a password that would enable Manning to access US Department of Defense computers to obtain documents she couldn’t otherwise get. Assange faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The Justice Department hasn’t submitted its final package of extradition materials to UK authorities yet, though. Instead, they asked for a “provisional arrest,” which requires less information at the start about the underlying evidence. The Justice Department has 60 days to make the formal extradition request. Until they do, they can bring more charges against Assange, but once the package is in, they can’t add any more.
Assange’s bail breach case will move next to the Crown Court, which handles more serious criminal offenses, where he’ll be sentenced on the bail breach issue. But the extradition case will stay in the Magistrates Court — the two cases can proceed at the same time. Assange can raise a host of defenses against extradition, including arguing that he should be protected as a journalist and that the prosecution is politically motivated. Given the prominent role of the Home Secretary in the process, Assange could pursue a public relations campaign to place pressure on Home Secretary Sajid Javid.
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