Source: Xinhua News Agency
Xinhua News Agency, Geneva, December 15 (Xinhua) Lawyer Stella Morris, the fiancee of Julian Assange, the founder of the "WikiLeaks" website, recently accepted an exclusive video interview with Xinhua News Agency. She said that due to the exposure of the United States in Iraq and countless war crimes on the battlefield in Afghanistan. Assange is facing extradition proceedings from the United States. The various evil deeds of the United States in the Assange case show that it has no right to dictate to other countries on human rights issues.
The British High Court approved the U.S. request to extradite Assange on the 10th, overturning a British judge's ruling earlier this year that dismissed the U.S. extradition request on the grounds of Assange's poor mental state. Morris said he would appeal to the UK Supreme Court.
Stella Morris photographed outside the British High Court in London on December 10. (Published by Xinhua News Agency, photo by Rey Tang)
Morris pointed out in an exclusive interview that Assange’s extradition case is “obviously a politically motivated prosecution” and exposes the “long-arm jurisdiction” of US justice. . In her view, Assange, as an Australian living in the United Kingdom, has only one connection with American justice because he exposed evidence of U.S. war crimes, espionage, interference in other countries' internal affairs, and eavesdropping habits. The real motive of the United States' request for Assange's extradition is to retaliate under the pretext of judicial procedures. This is another ironclad evidence that the United States has trampled on the sovereignty of other countries.
The "WikiLeaks" website founded by Assange disclosed a large number of U.S. diplomatic cables and U.S. military confidential documents related to the war in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2010, exposing U.S. military war crimes, such as one in which a U.S. military "Apache" helicopter gunship in Iraq shot and killed Reuters Videos of journalists and civilians have been widely circulated. Assange was immediately involved in a lawsuit and was charged by the United States with 17 counts of espionage and one count of improper use of computers. In 2019, Assange was arrested in the UK and jailed. Subsequently, the United States requested Assange's extradition on the grounds that "WikiLeaks" published secret documents related to the United States that endangered the lives of others.
Morris believes that "WikiLeaks" has achieved remarkable results in exposing American war crimes, which is why the United States is trying its best to extradite Assange. "The United States is abusing its power, playing other countries into its hands, trying to silence (Assange), because he has caused some departments in the United States to lose face and exposed the evil deeds of the United States that are kept secret."
On December 10, at Assange supporters photographed outside the British High Court in London. (Published by Xinhua News Agency, photo by Rey Tang)
In addition, according to a report on the US Yahoo News website in September this year, before the United States filed a lawsuit to extradite Assange in 2017, the CIA and senior US government officials discussed kidnapping and even assassination. Assange. The report also believed that the direct reason for the U.S. discussion of kidnapping and assassinating Assange was the large number of CIA documents disclosed by WikiLeaks in March 2017, involving information on the CIA's use of sensitive technical means to conduct hacking activities for surveillance purposes. The CIA later considered the breach the largest data loss in the agency's history.
Morris said that this report also confirmed that Assange's personal safety was seriously threatened. The United States planned the extradition proceedings against Assange and used the judicial process as a cover. This was nothing but a "farce." She worries that once Assange is extradited to the United States, he will be deprived of his right to a fair trial and may even be in danger of his life.
Morris finally said that she is still full of hope for the future because "the case against Assange is so outrageous and a clear abuse of power. The United States has committed crimes in many aspects of this case." She will fight to the end until Assange regains his freedom.
