Aemiliano blog

Assange's Fate Hangs in the Balance During U.K. Extradition Hearing

The captivating saga of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange continued full steam ahead on Monday as his two-day extradition hearing commenced in the U.K. Assange, who is wanted for questioning in Sweden regarding , is digging in his heels in the hopes of staying on British soil. Among his defense team's many arguments are claims that, if Assange is extradited to Sweden, he could ultimately wind up ; there, he could face execution due to his role in leaking thousands of American diplomatic cables, many of which were marked as "confidential" or "secret."

Assange's defense team is hoping that prevailing negative sentiments about U.S. execution policies will allow their client to remain in the U.K.; that's not the only argument they have up their sleeves, though. No formal charges have been filed in Sweden, something Assange supporters say invalidates the need to extradite him. Since he has not been formally charged with rape in Sweden, supporters argue he could be questioned via Internet or telephone. On top of all of these claims, Assange supporters posit that proper procedures were not followed during the Swedish investigation into the sex assault claims.

Extradition hearings tend to garner a lot of worldwide attention since many people consider fleeing their countries in order to avoid punishment. One of the most famous examples of a media feeding frenzy regarding extradition revolves around director , who has long been wanted on allegations of rape in the United States. The director has steered clear of the U.S. in order to avoid punishment. In 2010, however, Swiss authorities took him into custody. Ultimately, they released Polanski; he lives there as a free man to this day.

The "Merchant of Death," , is another prime example of somebody whose case pivoted on extradition hearings. Thailand ended up sending him to the U.S. to face various arms charges. Russia had been fighting to bring Bout, a Russian citizen, back home. While Bout's case certainly hasn't caused the whirlwind of media hype that's been a staple of the Assange saga, it's another example of the sometimes thorny questions that arise during extradition cases.