LONDON: A British judge on Wednesday gave the US government extra grounds to appeal a refusal to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, after it argued the initial ruling relied on a witness who misled court.

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser in January refused to grant a request by Washington for Assange to face trial in the United States on spying charges, ruling he was at serious risk of suicide.

But lawyer Clair Dobbin, representing the US government which is appealing the decision, said the judge “didn’t appreciate the weight” of expert evidence that concluded Assange was not a suicide risk.

Instead, the judge relied on evidence presented by Assange’s psychiatric expert Michael Kopelman, Dobbin told the High Court in London.

She said that Kopelman had admitted to misleading the court by “concealing” that his client had fathered children while holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

“She really needed to interrogate why he was willing to mislead her,” Dobbin told judges Timothy Holroyde and Judith Farbey during a preliminary appeal hearing.

“Experts aren’t allowed to mislead for any reason.” Holroyde ruled that the United States’ claims gave them two more grounds for appeal, making five in total.

The full hearing in the case, which is seen by Assange’s backers as a cause celebre for press freedom, will take place on October 27 and 28, he added. Assange himself was remanded in custody until then.

Judge Baraitser initially concluded that Assange’s mental health would deteriorate when faced with the “harsh conditions” likely to await him in the US jail system, “causing him to commit suicide”.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2021