#AssangeCase bail hearing Thread:

Ed Fitzgerald is in court. Julian hasn't arrived. The proceedings should start soon.
Judge comes into court. #JulianAssange walks in and identifies himself to court.
#AssangeCase
The Court will hear arguments against bail first.
Clair Dobbin: The high court can overturn the conviction, the court must be careful not to render the result academic.
#AssangeCase
Dobbin: In Kromberg's affidavit referring to #Assange helping @snowden flee justice. #Assange openly assisted @Snowden evaded arrest. Mr. #Assange said that he and @wikileaks orchestrated the escape and avoiding arrest.
#AssangeCase
Dobbin: Reads an interview from Terminal F Snowden documentary.
This shows that Mr. Assange has the resources and abilities to evade justice and also that Mexico has announced that they will grant #Assange asylum, so he could hide in their embassy or arrange a flight to escape.
Dobbin: #Assange has a clear history of evading extradition to the United States, the court cannot in good judgment grant bail.
Dobbin: Mr. #Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in the past even though he had sureties.
#AssangeCase
Dobbin: Assange has the resources and intent to flee the country, references Mexican president offering political asylum to Assange upon denial of his extradition, says there are countries "sympathetic to Mr Assange."
Dobbin: Mr #Assange regards himself as above the law, and he will stop at nothing to avoid facing the law.
#AssangeCase
Dobbin: Suggests that if #Assange is willing to kill himself, he is more likely to escape. That is way too low!!!!!
#AssangeCase
Dobbin: Argues that it is impossible to commit suicide in the US prison system.... yeah right!!! It never happens 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
#AssangeCase
Baraitser interrupts Dobbins in the middle of going into detail if #Assange will be able to commit suicide.
Dobbin: We contend that Mr. #Assange's mental health was not as severe as painted by the defence doctors.
#AssangeCase
Dobbin debates that #Assange having a family will keep him from absconding, and says that the only risk is that Julian is a flight risk.
#AssangeCase
Fitzgerald: #Assange has been detained for 15 months solely for the extradition request. Thought this time, the request remains the basis for his detention. Now you have made a ruling of discharging #Assange. The natural consequence is that he regains his liberty.
Fitzgerald: There is some doubt that the prosecution will actually pursue an appeal. Just today the prosecutor in Virginia left his position and said that it is uncertain that the Biden admin will pursue the extradition. #AssangeCase
Fitzgerald: The fact that the decision made of discharging #Assange one assumes that he would regain his liberty at the very least with conditions.
#AssangeCase
Fitzgerald: The court ruling ends every reason Mr. #Assange may have to abscond because he has the protection of the country, and he would want to finish the process until the end.
#AssangeCase
Fitzgerald noting press reports that the outgoing US prosecutor isn't even sure if the US will continue to prosecute Assange following the judge's ruling. (npr.org/2021/01/05/953…)
#AssangeCase
Fitzgerald notes that the judge's ruling recognized the importance, especially considering his psychiatric conditions, of Assange being able to see his family. Discharging him would "anchor him" to a home and finally allow him physical contact with his own family. #AssangeCase
It would seem Fitzgerald is also saying the extradition decision overtakes COVID as a reason why Assange should receive bail immediately.
#AssangeCase
Fitzgerald: Belmarsh has admitted to having 60 people with COVID, and up to 90 people have tested positive in #Assange's block.
Dobbin: Disputes the information with an email from Belmarsh saying they only have 3 positive COVID prisoners.
#AssangeCase
Baraitser: I will take the most up to date information.
Fitzgerald: Well it is undeniable that there was an increase in cases recently and this should be taken into account and revised closely if you will take it into your decision.
#AssangeCase
Fitzgerald: The main thrust of our submission is that the court ruling is detailed, it's evidence based, and it comes from your decision and evaluation of the case.
#AssangeCase
Fitzgerald: There is no significant incentive to abscond and every reason to continue in this country. This would be his first time that he would have to live with his family and children.
#AssangeCase
Fitzgerald: He's had a ruling of discharge and every incentive to see this through. And two that he would also have a chance to live with his family. His primary surety, who is providing a home to him, says that she is totally sure that this is a completely different situation.
Fitzgerald: We also say that there can be a GPS monitor tag. You can also go through the sureties which is a significant number of people.
#AssangeCase
Fitzgerald: Considering human rights, we say that the court could also consider outside factors from the decision including #Assange's human rights.
Fitzgerald: Mexico only offered asylum once these proceedings are finished. If the UK finally decides not to extradite, the US will still want him on any other jurisdiction, that is only when the Mexican Asylum would take place.
#AssangeCase
The Court has recess for the defence to get instructions.
Fitzgerald: It's very clear that he has lived the situation of being in an Embassy for years. This is not something that he will repeat. Also, Mexico stated that it would work with the UK government to offer Asylum, not that they open their doors to him right now.
#AssangeCase
Fitzgerald: Even if he lost, he still has the protection of the High Court, and then the Supreme Court and the ECRH.
#AssangeCase
Fitzgerald: We have a letter from Belmarsh from the 1st of January stating that social visits will remain closed. So he will remain in solitary, at risk of Covid and one of his friends, Mr. Santos recently committed suicide in Belmarsh waiting to be deported.
Fitzgerald: Apart from that he has the benefit of the court's discharge. I ask for these reasons to be granted bail on conditions.
#AssangeCase
Baraitser: Mr. Assange became a fugitive to this court in 2012, with similar conditions as those asked for today. He did this to avoid extradition to the US. The US has already logged their appeal, the outcome of this appeal was not yet won.
Baraitser: Mr. #Assange still has a reason to abscond. The stringent conditions placed upon him previously were not enough to evade justice. He will remain in custody.
#AssangeCase

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More from @jlpassarelli

30 Sep 20
Day 17 of the #AssangeHearing, with three days left, open justice has not been done in these proceedings. The Judge blocked 40 political and NGO observers (including @amensty & @RSF_inter) from monitoring the most important #FreeSpeech trial of the century.
Thread:
Defence is reading from/summarizing a witness statement from war reporter Patrick Cockburn. He was in Kabul when the war logs were released, and he says they confirmed civilian casualties he and other journalists suspected.
#AssangeCase
Cockburn's statement includes the importance of the war logs and Collateral Murder video to prove these incidents in the face of official denial.
Read 41 tweets
29 Sep 20
Day 16 of the #AssangeCase proceedings. By this stage it is very likely that the 40 political observers that the judge arbitrarily banned from the observing proceedings virtually will not be allowed to do so. 4 left & I feel the decision was made before we started.
Thread:
We have Maureen Baird on the stand: 28 years experience with the Bureau of Prisons in various capacities, with her final positions as Warden and Senior Executive Service Warden at three various Federal Prisons.
#AssangeCase
Baraitser walks in. Baird takes the oath.
Read 84 tweets
28 Sep 20
September 28th, day 15 of the #AssangeCase extradition proceedings. 40 political and #FreeSpeech advocate observers including @RSF_inter and @amnesty are still banned from observing the most important trial of our lifetime by Judge Baraitser without any explanation.
Thread:
Sorry for being a bit late, this morning the court heard from Yancey Ellis, US attorney, with experience of the federal prison system. He talked about how #Assange would be placed under a strict solitary confinement regime.
As a pre-trial defendant, Assange would be detained in the ADC for months or potentially years. Ellis: "I believe it's most likely" #Assange would be held in administrative segregation (ad-seg).
#AssangeCase
Read 49 tweets
27 Sep 20
The @DailyMailUK’s shameful regurgitation of 10 years of disproven slander against #JulianAssange comes at a rather interesting time.

1. There has been increasing reporting of the #AssangeCase, all positive and it Julian’s plight seems to be winning hearts and minds.

Thread:
2. The @DailyMailUK might have come under political pressure after being at the forefront of the MSM in the reporting positive reporting of the #AssangeCase.
The political nature of the #AssangeCase does not make it inconceivable that at the highest levels the @DailyMailUK might have felt obligated to do a balancing act of its reporting of the case often often highlighting prosecution flaws, injustices & dangerous precedent being set.
Read 7 tweets
25 Sep 20
Day 13 in #AssangeCase extradition hearing. 40 political and NGO observers are still banned from observing the proceedings. Fitzgerald says that the prosecution sent a cross-examination evidence was sent last night at 11.30pm, it is 5am where he is and asks for an hour.
When he has had time to read the prosecution bundle, we expect testimony from Patrick Eller, digital forensics expert, on the computer crime charge and the alleged agreement between Assange & Chelsea Manning to crack a password in 2010.
Patrick Ellers will argue that the allegation against Assange regarding the password cracking issue is not possible, and if it were it was not used for the purpose the government alleges.

Judge grants 50 more minutes for Ellers to review.
#AssangeCase
Read 23 tweets
24 Sep 20
Day 13: #JulianAssange's extradition hearing. Expecting more medical testimony today, from Dr. Blackwood and Dr. Sondra Crosby.
#AssangeCase
Due to the personal nature of the medical testimonies I will refrain from tweeting details.
By June #Assange had lost a lot of weight.
Read 45 tweets

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