Why did a British judge reject the Trump administration’s attempt to extradite Julian Assange, despite accepting “virtually all of the allegations” the U.S. government leveled against the WikiLeaks founder? The answer lies not in the dire threat extradition would pose to press freedoms across the globe, but in the dangerous abomination that is the U.S. prison system. In her 132-page ruling (pdf) issued Monday, Judge Vanessa Baraitser of the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday described the conditions Assange would face in the U.S. as “harsh” even compared to London’s notorious maximum-security Belmarsh jail, where the publisher has been held since April of 2019. “Despite the fact that the request was rejected, there is plenty in this ruling to cause alarm. Because someone else could easily be criminalized in future”, Kevin Gosztola said.
— source commondreams.org | Jan 04, 2021