WikiLeaks founder Assange's lawyer seeks more time with client to discuss case

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s lawyer said that his client is not getting enough time with the legal team to discuss the case regarding extradition to the United States. Assange’s lawyer Gareth Peirce reportedly told a British court that the difficulty in getting time with the whistleblower is causing delays in the case. A London court has set February 2020 for Assange’s full extradition hearing to the United States. 

The US has demanded his extradition on the charges of violating the Espionage Act and conspiring to hack into classified government documents. In June 2019, Julian Assange, serving 50-weeks imprisonment, appeared before the court through a video link. Earlier, he was charged on a single count of computer intrusion but later 17 counts were added including charges of espionage for encouraging, receiving and publishing national defence information in cahoots with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.

Read: Julian Assange 'could Die In Jail' , 60 Doctors Write Open Letter

Silent appearance

Assange appeared before the court on January 13 but remained silent during the hearing except stating his name and date of birth to the judge. He also acknowledged his supporters, present in the public gallery, who have been demanding freedom for Assange and holding protests to not let the UK extradite the 48-year-old Australian to the US. The whistleblower spent seven years in Ecuador’s embassy to avoid arrest but was dragged out by the police in April last year.

Read: Westminster Court To Hear WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Extradition Case

Last year, Nobel Peace laureate Mairead Maguire had nominated Julian Assange for Nobel peace prize in January for his contributions to ensure freedom of speech. “Julian Assange and his colleagues in WikiLeaks have shown on numerous occasions that they are one of the last outlets of true democracy with their work for freedom of speech,” Maguire wrote to the Norwegian Nobel Committee advocating peace prize for Assange. “Their work for true peace by making public our governments’ actions at home and abroad has enlightened us to their atrocities carried out in the name of so-called democracy around the world,” she added.

Read: Julian Assange Struggles To Say His Own Name, As He Fights Extradition

Read: Julian Assange Appears To Be Confused At Extradition Hearing In UK

(With inputs from agencies)