Campaign to Write to Judge Arbuthnot Who Presides Over the U.K. Extradition of Assange

I am starting a writing campaign to flood Judge Emma Arbuthnot with letters why Assange should not be extradited. Below are a few examples of why he shouldn’t:

• Recently the U.S. DOJ put back in place the death penalty which makes Assange’s extradition against U.K. law. As seen on wikipedia here. Under section 94 of theExtradition Act 2003, it is unlawful for an extradition of an individual to take place if the individual is accused of a capital crime, unless the Home Secretary has received assurances that the death penalty would not be applied in that case.
• Extradition cannot be politically based. According to Just Security seen here:

Another defense available to Assange—and perhaps his most formidable one—will be to assert that he is being charged with a political offense. If that assertion is deemed correct, it could block his extradition, because, like many extradition agreements, the US-UK treaty forbids any transfer based on such charges. The categorical prohibition under Article 4 of the treaty could not be clearer: “Extradition shall not be granted if the offense for which extradition is requested is a political offense.”

But what is a political offense? Transgressions such as espionage, sedition, and treason are what are known as “pure” political offenses, including under UK law—that is to say, activities that directly target the state but that would not necessarily be criminal in other contexts. A related category, known as “relative” political offenses, covers common crimes that are incidental to purely political activities. Because various jurisdictions have interpreted the expansiveness of this political exception differently over time, a universal definition of a relative political offense is difficult to articulate, but the basic principle of the political exception in extradition has remained unchanged since its origins in the late nineteenth century. It states, in brief, that nations should not return political opponents to face prosecution for challenging the states that would sit in judgement of them.

• A judge should take into consideration the reasons he sought asylum. Fear of torture and possible death.
• His health is quickly deteriorating. He has no access to the internet or library to prepare a defense.

Address to email or snail mail Emna Arbuthnot:

1. 181 Marylebone Road

London
NW1 5BR
DX 120551, Marylebone 9

Office global email addresses:

Judicial Deployment – gl-cmo.ddjdeployment@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk