British judge Vanessa Baraitser today denied parole to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as he poses a flight risk, despite having previously denied his extradition to the United States on health grounds.
Announcing her decision in the Westminster Magistrates Court, the judge noted that Assange “has not yet won his case” as the US will appeal the non-surrender decision and “has an incentive to go into hiding” to completion that process.
Baraitser said the 49-year-old Australian, who suffers from depression and other ailments after ten years of incarceration in the UK, “has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to flee justice, even though there are” strict conditions “for scrutiny.
The judge’s decision means that Assange, who was present in court, will remain on remand in London’s Belmarsh prison while his legal proceedings progress.
In today’s hearing to determine whether he can be paroled, Baraitser accepted the arguments against Prosecutor Clair Dobbin, who represented the US Justice Department, who claimed that the computer scientist has proven in the past that he is capable of ‘extraordinary extremes’. to avoid his extradition.
The judge ruled out the defense’s position, which suggested that her client leave prison and be “ effectively under house arrest ” in a London home with his partner, Stella Morris and their two children, with a financial connection . and “any other condition imposed by the court.”
This Wednesday’s decision is a serious blow to Assange and his family, in addition to his thousands of followers around the world, who saw for the first time the possibility of him leaving his incarceration.
Last Monday, after discovering a risk of suicide, Baraitser rejected the former ‘hacker’s’ extradition to the United States, claiming he would prosecute him for 18 alleged crimes of espionage and computer hacking over the revelations of his digital portal WikiLeaks , sentenced to 175 years in prison in that country.
While she accepted the threats to her health from a possible surrender, the judge rejected the rest of the defense’s arguments, which among other things argued that the charges were “ politically motivated ” and that she would not receive a fair trial in that country.