'A Chilling Message to Journalists the World Over':
UK Approves Assange Extradition to US
June 17, 2022
The U.K. government on Friday formally approved the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face espionage charges, a decision that human rights groups condemned as a dire threat to journalism worldwide.
In a statement responding to the decision, WikiLeaks said that "this is a dark day for press freedom and for British democracy."
"Anyone in this country who cares about freedom of expression should be deeply ashamed," the organization continued. "Julian did nothing wrong. He has committed no crime and is not a criminal. He is a journalist and a publisher, and he is being punished for doing his job."
