Julian Assange denied bail in UK after claiming 'high risk' of catching coronavirus

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s application for
bail to avoid contracting the novel coronavirus has been denied by a British
judge.
Assange was denied bail after arguing that his
release from a UK prison would mitigate his “high risk” of catching coronavirus.
The Australian made the application in the
Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday, with less than 15 people in
attendance due to the coronavirus lockdown.
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled that Assange
had absconded before and said that Belmarsh prison is following government
guidelines to protect detainees with no confirmed virus cases there yet.
She accepted that government advice may change
rapidly but for the time being she denied strict bail for the 48-year-old.
“As matters stand today this global pandemic does
not, of itself, yet provide grounds for Mr Assange’s release,” Judge Baraitser
said.
She is also concerned that based on Assange’s past
conduct, there are “substantial grounds” to believe that if released he would
not return to face his extradition hearing.
“There are no
conditions that allay this concern and this application is therefore refused.”
Defence lawyer Edward Fitzgerald QC wore a face mask
and his colleague Mark Summers attended via Zoom, while US government lawyers
dialled in.
Fitzgerald said Assange has prior chest and tooth
infections and osteoporosis, placing him at a higher risk from the virus.
The QC described prisons as “epidemiological pumps”
where diseases spread rapidly and said the defence team had recently been
denied entry to Belmarsh because 100 prison staff were self-isolating.
“If he continues to be detained in prison ... there
is a real risk that his health and his life will be seriously endangered in
circumstances from which he cannot escape,” Fitzgerald told the court.
The lawyer also raised the prospect of Assange’s
next extradition hearing on 18 May being postponed due to lockdown measures.
He said witnesses overseas could be unable to travel
and Assange may be unable to meet his counsel in the locked down prison.
Clair Dobbin for the US government, said Assange’s
history – including him seeking asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy for almost
seven years – showed the high risk he would abscond.
“There are insurmountable hurdles for Mr Assange
being granted bail,” she said.
“He has been tested before and failed.”
But Fitzgerald insisted that Assange’s past actions
should not be a basis for refusing bail.
“The focus of someone in his vulnerable position,
with his family ties here, is on survival, not on absconsion,” he said.
The defence also revealed that Assange had a partner
and at least two children living in the UK.
Last month, Assange’s bid to leave the dock and sit
with his lawyers in court was also knocked back by Judge Baraitser.
The US government is trying to extradite Assange to
face 17 charges of violating the Espionage Act and one of conspiring to commit
computer intrusion over the leaking and publishing of thousands of classified
US diplomatic and military files.
Some of those files revealed alleged US war crimes
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The charges carry a total of 175 years’
imprisonment.
His extradition case was adjourned until 7 April.