Ben Keith comments in Bloomberg on the decision in the Julian Assange case to block his extradition to the U.S on health grounds:
The ruling is “going to be difficult to appeal because it’s a factual decision on his mental health,” said Ben Keith, an extradition lawyer in London who doesn’t represent anyone in the case. He said any appeal court would be unlikely to “interfere” with the findings.
Julian Assange’s extradition to the U.S was blocked by a UK judge, "citing the risk of his suicide in a U.S. jail, in a decision that gives the WikiLeaks founder a legal victory after close to a decade of imprisonment or self-imposed exile.
Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled Monday that his extradition to face espionage charges would be oppressive because of the 49-year-old’s mental health, saying he was “a depressed and sometimes despairing man genuinely fearful about his future."
Assange could be released from the high-security Belmarsh prison as soon as Wednesday, when his lawyers will return to court to make what they say are the “strongest grounds to granting bail” in light of Monday’s ruling."
Continue reading the article on Bloomberg's website here.
Ben Keith is a leading specialist in Extradition and International Crime, as well as dealing with Immigration, Serious Fraud, and Public law. He has extensive experience of appellate proceedings before the Administrative and Divisional Courts, Criminal and Civil Court of Appeal as well as applications and appeals to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and United Nations. He is top-ranked in Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500 for his Extradition work.
