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I spoke to Julian today. At any moment we expect that the US will drop its existing extradition request and then re-arrest him on the very same 18 charges, under a different extradition request.
We don't know if this means he'll be brought to court to be 're-arrested'. (Thread)
We don't know if this means he'll be brought to court to be 're-arrested'. (Thread)
The DoJ had been given a deadline by Westminster Magistrates Court to finalise any further extradition requests by 14 June 2019.
That makes the latest superseding indictment 14 months late.
It was publicised on the DoJ website on 24 June 2020, over a month ago.
That makes the latest superseding indictment 14 months late.
It was publicised on the DoJ website on 24 June 2020, over a month ago.
5 weeks have passed since the DoJ publicised its indictment (with no new charges) but the US has so far made no attempt to incorporate it into the UK jurisdiction.
Hence lawyers have been working on arguments & evidence in relation to an effectively defunct extradition request.
Hence lawyers have been working on arguments & evidence in relation to an effectively defunct extradition request.
The incorporation of the superseding indictment into UK jurisdiction (with the very same 18 charges as before) has been inexplicably delayed for an additional five weeks and counting. Meanwhile fast approaching is Sept 7th, when extradition hearings that began in Feb will restart
In light of the US's inexplicable procrastination, it would be improper for the snail-pace of the indictment's incorporation into UK jurisdiction to be used by the US to seek to delay the hearing until after the November US presidential election. See: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/jul/27/us-attorney-general-julian-assange-extradition-case-political-ends-uk-court-told
At the hearing yesterday, Fitzgerald QC said
"We are concerned about a fresh request being made at this stage with the potential consequence of derailing proceedings and that the US attorney-general is doing this for political reasons."
"We are concerned about a fresh request being made at this stage with the potential consequence of derailing proceedings and that the US attorney-general is doing this for political reasons."
Wikileaks editor @khrafnsson on the US's intention to incorporate the June 2020 indictment half-way into UK extradition proceedings: https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/1287684651281244160?s=19
When quizzed by the Magistrate lawyers for the US would not provide a timeline as to when they intended to present the new extradition request.
All evidence deadlines agreed in court by the parties have passed (save for psychiatric evidence which has its own timeline).
All evidence deadlines agreed in court by the parties have passed (save for psychiatric evidence which has its own timeline).
