London Court Rules against Assange’s Extradition to U.S.

The London court has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the United States over a significant risk to his life and health, Judge of the Westminster Magistrates’ Court Vanessa Baraitser announced on Monday, TASS reported.

The judge, who delivered the ruling at London’s Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, acknowledged that Assange had autism spectrum disorder and suffered from depression and could commit suicide. In addition, Assange’s condition could deteriorate in solitary confinement in the United States.

Assange also is an intelligent individual who could escape any measures aimed at preventing suicide attempts. So, the risk to his life was a ground for refusing to extradite him.

“In these harsh conditions, Mr. Assange’s mental health would deteriorate causing him to commit suicide with the “single minded determination” of his autism spectrum disorder,” the Judge said in the ruling. “I find that the mental condition of Mr. Assange is such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America.”