Assange case shows that 'exposing US' leads to punishment: China

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) — China on Tuesday said the extradition case against WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange shows that "exposing the US leads to punishment," state media reported.

Assange's case "shows the world what 'American-style freedom of the press' is," said Wang Wenbin, spokesman of China's Foreign Ministry.

It demonstrates that "exposing other countries should be rewarded, while exposing the US leads to punishment," Wang told reporters in Beijing.

"To the US, freedom of the press, like democratic human rights, is just a tool the US uses to suppress dissidents and maintain its own hegemony," Wang asserted.

Assange on Monday won a legal bid to appeal against his extradition to the US from Britain.

The journalist and WikiLeaks co-founder, who was to be extradited to the US on espionage charges, will now take his case to a new appeal hearing.

He has been facing 17 charges of espionage, on which he may receive up to 175 years in prison.

Assange, who has been detained in a UK prison since 2019, faces extradition over allegations of leaking classified military documents in 2010-2011.

The UK High Court, in a pivotal 2021 ruling, decreed that Assange should be extradited, dismissing assertions over his fragile mental state and the risks he might face in a US correctional facility.

Following the suit, the Supreme Court upheld the decision in 2022, while then-Home Secretary Priti Patel affirmed the extradition order.

In his latest bid for a reprieve, Assange is seeking authorization to scrutinize Patel's determination and challenge the initial 2021 court verdict.

A UK High Court ruling in March granted Assange the right to appeal his extradition to the US, deciding against the immediate implementation of the decision.