Death Penalty for Assange? Australian Senator Concerned

Senator David Shoebridge says it would be unlawful for the UK to extradite someone to a country where they could face the death penalty. Where this should be a black and white law, he says, nothing is clear-cut in Assange’s case. In the recent hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice Ben Watson KC, speaking for the Home Secretary, said it would be “difficult“ to get an assurance from the US against the death penalty, should further charges be pressed. Mark Summers for the defence suggested such a charge could be “aiding and abetting treason“. Shoebridge was speaking at the recent Sydney premiere of a new film by director Kym Staton, ’THE TRUST FALL: Julian Assange’. Military whistleblower David McBride then spoke about ominous new developments in his case, which he compared to that of Assange, where similar arguments have been advanced about potential harm from disclosure of war crimes. In the case of Assange, a task force led by General Robert Carr, found that no one had been harmed by WikiLeaks disclosures.