Sajid Javid faces pressure to block Julian Assange's extradition to US

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures from inside a prison van as he is driven out of Southwark Crown Court in London on May 1

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures from inside a prison van as he is driven out of Southwark Crown Court in London on May 1

WikiLeaks has urged the Home Secretary to block Julian Assange's extradition to the US over fresh espionage charges in the name of press freedom.

The organisation said Sajid Javid was under 'enormous pressure to protect the rights of the free press in the UK and elsewhere' after its founder was hit with a raft of new charges by the US Department of Justice.

The 47-year-old, who is currently jailed in Britain, faces 18 counts that relate to his 'alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States'.

Yesterday, a grand jury indictment was unsealed to reveal allegations against Assange, who is accused of working with former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 'unlawfully obtaining and disclosing' hundreds of thousands of classified documents.

The Justice Department said that by publishing unredacted versions of the leaked files, Assange put 'named human sources at a grave and imminent risk'.

The department alleges the pair conspired 'with reason to believe that the information was to be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation'.

WikiLeaks called it 'the end of national security journalism and the First Amendment'

WikiLeaks called it 'the end of national security journalism and the First Amendment'

Actress Pamela Anderson, who struck up an unlikely friendship with Assange, called the Australian an 'incredible person' saying 'more people should be proud of him'.

She went on: 'Because he's ruffled a few important feathers I guess, powerful feathers, so they're not too happy with him at the moment.

'So now he's shut off from the rest of the world and we have to speak up for him'.

According to WikiLeaks, the charges, 17 of which are under the First World War-era Espionage Act, carry 175 years in prison if convicted.

It is the first time in history anyone operating in a journalistic capacity has been charged under the Espionage Act and raises concerns about First Amendment limits and protections for publishing classified information. 

WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson branded the new charges 'the evil of lawlessness in its purest form', while the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said the move was 'an extraordinary escalation of the Trump administration's attacks on journalism'.

John Pilger, the Bafta-winning documentary maker, warned that 'modern fascism is breaking cover', tweeting: 'Tomorrow it will be you on the New York Times, you on the BBC.'

Assange was dramatically dragged from the Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge, central London, last month, some seven years after he sought political asylum after the documents were published.

WikiLeaks said Home Secretary Sajid Javid (pictured at Downing Street in London on Tuesday) was under 'enormous pressure to protect the rights of the free press in the UK and elsewhere'

WikiLeaks said Home Secretary Sajid Javid (pictured at Downing Street in London on Tuesday) was under 'enormous pressure to protect the rights of the free press in the UK and elsewhere'

He was then jailed for 50 weeks for a bail breach and is fighting against extradition to the US.

Following his arrest Mr Javid told the Commons that it would be for the courts to determine whether there was any legal reason for Mr Assange to avoid extradition.

The Home Secretary added: 'It is right that we implement the judicial process fairly and consistently, with due respect for equality before the law.'

In a statement on Friday, WikiLeaks said: 'The final decision on Assange's extradition rests with the UK Home Secretary, who is now under enormous pressure to protect the rights of the free press in the UK and elsewhere.

'Press rights advocates have unanimously argued that Assange's prosecution under the Espionage Act is incompatible with basic democratic principles.

'This is the gravest attack on press freedom of the century.'

US actress Pamela Anderson (pictured after visiting Assange at Belmarsh Prison on May 7), who struck up an unlikely friendship with Assange, said 'more people should be proud of him'.

US actress Pamela Anderson (pictured after visiting Assange at Belmarsh Prison on May 7), who struck up an unlikely friendship with Assange, said 'more people should be proud of him'.

WikiLeaks said the charges relate to 'disclosures of war crimes and human rights abuses by the US government' that were published online in 2010 and 2011.

The organisation warned the indictment demonstrated 'extraterritorial application of US law' and ignored Assange's rights as a journalist under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

Mr Hrafnsson said: 'This is the evil of lawlessness in its purest form. With the indictment, the 'leader of the free world' dismisses the First Amendment - hailed as a model of press freedom around the world - and launches a blatant extraterritorial assault outside its borders, attacking basic principles of democracy in Europe and the rest of the world.'

Only one charge, of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, had previously been revealed against Assange.

His lawyer, Barry J Pollack, said the initial charge had been a 'fig leaf'.

Assange supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London's Knightsbridge on May 29

Assange supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London's Knightsbridge on May 29

'These unprecedented charges demonstrate the gravity of the threat the criminal prosecution of Julian Assange poses to all journalists in their endeavour to inform the public about actions that have been taken by the US government.'

The ACLU said the new charges established 'a dangerous precedent that can be used to target all news organisations that hold the government accountable by publishing its secrets'.

A federal grand jury returned the indictment against him in Virginia on Thursday afternoon. Now, the 47-year-old WikiLeaks founder faces 170 years behind bars.

US authorities allege the whistleblower conspired with Chelsea Manning, 31, 'with reason to believe that the information was to be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation'.

Assange published the documents on WikiLeaks with unredacted names of sources who

read more from dailymail.....

PREV Toronto police spark outrage for telling residents to leave their car keys at ... trends now
NEXT In news vacuum, rumours and concern swirl over Catherine mogaznewsen