Priti Patel’s decision to extradite Assange underlines UK’s subservience to American injustice and it must be opposed

<p dir="ltr">London - The decision by Home Secretary Priti Patel to extradite journalist and truth teller Julian Assange to the country that planned his assassination, highlights the lack of UK judicial and executive independence from the diktats of the USA. It also signals a betrayal to free speech, true journalistic investigation and accountability by this Government.</p> <p dir="ltr">The lopsided UK-US extradition treaty in effect subcontracts the entire British legal framework to work as a branch of the US prosecution. Assange’s legal team will now be mounting a last ditch appeal to halt the extradition.</p> <h3 dir="ltr">Muhammad Rabbani, Managing Director of CAGE said:</h3> <p dir="ltr">“Priti Patel, true to herself, has signed off on the persecution of Assange for his courageous journalism. With the government lining up legislation to insulate itself from accountability, even in the case of war crimes, Julian Assange represents the voice of accountability that they wish to have silenced.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“We stand with Stella Assange, Wikileakes and the thousands of Assange’s supporters in opposing his extradition and defending the right to expose state abuse.”</p>