Fidel Narvaez, former Ecuadorian consul in London: details in Aristegui Live the protracted case of Julian Assangefounder of WikiLeaks, who is at a critical pointBecause next week the latest appeal filed to avoid his extradition to the United States will be heard.

Assange faces an extradition request on charges related to espionageBecause of publication of classified materials, an act that Narvaez considers a legitimate form of investigative journalism, as do many civil society organizations.

“The point of the matter is criminalize purely journalistic activities“, he said, warning about the dangers this could mean for press freedom around the world that Julian Assange has been extradited and imprisoned.

Narvaez noted that the process was long and complex. The US first filed an extradition request to the UK. since Assange was living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London under political asylum. After he was kicked out of the embassy, Assange was arrested by British authorities in April 2019.

Following his arrest, a trial began in the United Kingdom to determine whether Assange would be extradited to the United States. At the initial stage, A British court rejected the extradition. However, the US appealed this decision.

This led to a new stage of the process, in which Assange and his legal team had to present additional arguments against extradition.

Narvaez announced that next Wednesday There will be a hearing where two judges will hear the defense’s arguments. Assange. These judges have the option to allow a final appeal to the UK Supreme Court or approve Assange’s extradition to the United States.

If the judges decide to allow a final appeal, the case could drag on even longer. However, if they decide in favor of extradition, Assange could be sent to the US to stand trial on charges of espionage.

“Julian is not American, he has not published in the United States, and this is the risk of extradition: it will create a precedent that The United States applies its law extrajudicially, extraterritorially.“, he emphasized. “The military-industrial complex wants revenge against Julian.”

Similarly, the former consul explained that Assange is not accused of stealing or hacking classified information, but rather of just by publishing it.

Having been prosecuted under the US Espionage Act, neither he nor his lawyers “will have the opportunity to challenge what is known as public interestthat is, what you published is important because identifies abuses of power, crimes, extrajudicial killings, etc.. This doesn’t count; they won’t even listen to him. The only thing that will judge is whether what has already been decided is published or not. This is classified material and that its publication violates the Espionage Act.”

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Narvaez explained that U.S. prosecutors argue that Assange is not protected by the country’s First Amendment, which protects freedom of expression, because he is not a citizen of the country. Nevertheless, “The US is going to punish him with all the severity of its laws.not having the right to benefit from the same legislation.”

Despite the uncertainty and legal obstacles, Narvaez remains cautiously hopeful: “Hope is the last thing you lose.” However, he warned that there was a possibility that Assange committed suicide if placed in harsh US prison conditions.

He believed that, ultimately, the Julian Assange case was more than just a legal issue: It is a symbol of the fight for transparency and accountability. and defending democratic principles and freedom of the press.

The full interview can be viewed here: