The founder of the whistleblowing platform WikiLeaks – Julian Assange – could soon be extradited to the United States since the British and the American governments are diligently working on this. Still, the Australian activist will be able to appeal the decision.
The creator of the media organization WikiLeaks – Julian Assange – came to international attention in 2010. Back then, his platform published a series of leaks that exposed several war crimes conducted by the US army in Iraq and Afghanistan. Specifically, the videos show how soldiers kill civilians, including a Reuters photographer and his driver.
Shortly after those leaks, Assange became a top target for the US authorities. In addition, Sweden issued an international arrest warrant for him over allegations of sexual misconduct. WikiLeaks’ founder said these accusations were a pretext for his extradition from the Scandinavian country to the USA.
After losing his legal battle against the Swedish authorities, Assange sook shelter in the Embassy of Ecuador in London, where he was granted asylum. Three years ago, he was dragged out of the embassy and sent to the high-security Belmarsh Prison in the British capital.
Ever since then, the US has been trying to pull Assange to the States and send him to American federal prison for his whistleblowing endeavors against the army. He is wanted on 18 criminal charges and faces up to 175 years behind bars.
According to a recent coverage by CNN, the British high court issued a formal extradition order of Assange as the only step before sending him to the US remains Priti Patel’s (UK Home Secretary) rubber-stamp. However, law procedures will allow WikiLeaks’ creator to appeal the decision.
In January 2021, Assange was close to being extradited to the States, but the British high court overturned that decision. The law officials said this could happen only if he becomes a subject of “special administrative measures.” Additionally, the high court insisted that he won’t face a maximum prison sentence.
A lot of people created several organizations fighting for Assange’s freedom over the years, including a DAO going by the name “AssangeDAO.”
Earlier this year, the entity raised over 17,000 ETH from 10,000 users. The assets were worth nearly $54 million at that time.
“AssangeDAO intends to raise capital to bid on Assange’s NFT. By galvanizing an Assange solidarity network, we hope to send a powerful signal that the time of passivity is over. A new era of cypherpunk organization has dawned,” the organization stated.
It is worth observing whether new entities aiming to raise crypto assets will pop out in the days to come following the reports of his possible extradition to the USA.