Julian Assange Has Now Been Held Without Trial For Four Years

The Wikileaks founder has spent four years in a high-security prison without a conviction or a charge, fighting a prolonged extradition process. Meanwhile, his supporters have shown no signs of easing the struggle for his release.

April 11 marks four years since Julian Assange was forcibly dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2019 and put under arrest. Ever since his imprisonment, the Wikileaks founder has spent much of his time in the high-security prison in Belmarsh under judicial remand, without any charges or conviction, fighting a prolonged extradition process.

The extradition request from the United States began under the administration of former president Donald Trump, and continues under the present Joe Biden administration. From recent revelations, it is understood that the US attempt to prosecute Assange has been going on since at least the Barack Obama administration.

Call Out Vigil for Julian Assange, who has been detained in England for six years. Today the United Nations hears a further appeal on his behalf.

Once extradited, Assange will face an indictment for charges that carry a total maximum prison sentence of 175 years. He faces 18 charges, 17 of them under the infamous Espionage Act, and is the first publisher or journalist to be indicted under the controversial law. The charges pertain to the release and publication of leaked classified documents that exposed war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with several other violations of international law, by the US.