Lawyers call for Julian Assange release | The Canberra Times | Canberra, ACT
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6881219/lawyers-call-for-julian-assange-release/
Canberra Times: ...In a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Home Secretary Priti Patel, 169 individuals and legal organisations called for the government to intervene.
If extradited, campaigners said the 49-year-old will face a "show trial" in the US.
They added he has been subject to surveillance which violates his right to a fair trial.
"We call on you to act in accordance with national and international law, human rights and the rule of law by bringing an end to the ongoing extradition proceedings and granting Mr Assange his long overdue freedom," the letter signed Lawyers for Assange, reads.
The group said the political nature of his alleged offences prohibits his extradition under the US-UK extradition treaty and that UK judges in his case have been subject to conflicts of interest.
...
In the letter, Lawyers for Assange said this was an "irregular and disproportionate sentence" and stressed the need for his release given the Covid-19 pandemic and his health.
Campaigners also said Assange's extradition would endanger the freedom of the press.
The letter said: "The extradition to the US of a publisher and journalist, for engaging in journalistic activities while in Europe, would set a very dangerous precedent."