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ALHR urges Government to support Assange's right to fair trial
From newsletter: ALHR National Newsletter
Published: 02/12/2011
Published: 02/12/2011
After failing in his appeal against extradition earlier this month, Julian Assange is facing extradition to Sweden for questioning on sexual assault allegations, unless his legal team is successful in mounting one final appeal to the UK Supreme Court.
Without passing comment on the allegations against Mr Assange, or the merits of the Wikileaks project, we, along with many others harbour concerns about whether Mr Assange will receive a fair trial in Sweden, which will be held in secret, before a judge and two former politicians, rather than a jury.
There is the further concern that Assange might be then sent to the US on a temporary surrender request, which, it appears, has neither procedural or substantive safeguards. According to Geoffrey Robertson, Sweden has been criticised by ECHR for rendering several suspects to the CIA in breach of international law. Should this happen, Assange may face trial in the US under the century-old Espionage Act, which can carry the death penalty.
The arrest warrant is merely based on allegations: Mr. Assange has not been charged with a crime in any jurisdiction, and an investigation by the Australian Government has found that he has not done anything that would amount to a crime under Australian law. Mr. Assange has a right to a fair trial and equal treatment before the law, like any citizen of a country which respects the rule of law. The Federal Government is under a duty to help Australian nationals facing trial abroad.
ALHR added its name to a letter to Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, supporting a letter from Assange's solicitor Gareth Pierce requesting assistance and information, and urging the Government to be active in ensuring that Mr. Assange?s rights to fair treatment and due process are not overridden. You can access Ms Pierce's letter, and ours, on the ALHR website.
The Government, it seems, would prefer to ignore the matter entirely, as it was reported that DFAT only responded to Ms Pierce's letter after pressure from the Age.
Without passing comment on the allegations against Mr Assange, or the merits of the Wikileaks project, we, along with many others harbour concerns about whether Mr Assange will receive a fair trial in Sweden, which will be held in secret, before a judge and two former politicians, rather than a jury.
There is the further concern that Assange might be then sent to the US on a temporary surrender request, which, it appears, has neither procedural or substantive safeguards. According to Geoffrey Robertson, Sweden has been criticised by ECHR for rendering several suspects to the CIA in breach of international law. Should this happen, Assange may face trial in the US under the century-old Espionage Act, which can carry the death penalty.
The arrest warrant is merely based on allegations: Mr. Assange has not been charged with a crime in any jurisdiction, and an investigation by the Australian Government has found that he has not done anything that would amount to a crime under Australian law. Mr. Assange has a right to a fair trial and equal treatment before the law, like any citizen of a country which respects the rule of law. The Federal Government is under a duty to help Australian nationals facing trial abroad.
ALHR added its name to a letter to Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, supporting a letter from Assange's solicitor Gareth Pierce requesting assistance and information, and urging the Government to be active in ensuring that Mr. Assange?s rights to fair treatment and due process are not overridden. You can access Ms Pierce's letter, and ours, on the ALHR website.
The Government, it seems, would prefer to ignore the matter entirely, as it was reported that DFAT only responded to Ms Pierce's letter after pressure from the Age.