Julian Assange branded 'narcissist' by judge as Wikileaks founder faces US extradition
Mr Assange faces up to a year in UK prison after being found guilty of breaching bail conditions over separate Sweden rape allegations
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Julian Assange has been branded a “narcissist” by a judge as he faces both a UK prison sentence and being extradited to the US.
The Metropolitan Police said the Australian hacker was initially detained at the Ecuadorian embassy for failing to surrender to court.
He had been summoned in 2012 over an alleged rape in Sweden, where authorities are now considering reopening their investigation into those allegations.
After arriving at a London police station on Thursday morning, the 47-year-old was additionally arrested on behalf of the US under an extradition warrant.
Assange was taken to Westminster Magistrates’ Court and found guilty of breaching bail hours later. He faces a jail sentence of up to a year.
He denied the offence, with lawyers arguing that he had a reasonable excuse and he could not expect a fair trial in the UK as its purpose was to “secure his delivery” to the US.
District Judge Michael Snow described the defence as laughable, adding: “Mr Assange’s behaviour is that of a narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interests. He hasn’t come close to establishing ‘reasonable excuse’.”
He remanded Assange in custody ahead of a future sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court.
He will next appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 2 May, in relation to the extradition case.
Assange waved to the public gallery as he was taken down to the cells.
American authorities have separately charged him over obtaining classified information – which revealed war crimes – from former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010.
Speaking outside of court, Assange’s lawyer said the WikiLeaks founder would fight extradition to the US.
“Since 2010 we’ve warned that Julian Assange would face extradition to the US for his publishing activities. Unfortunately, today we have been proved right,” Jennifer Robinson said.
“This sets a dangerous precedent for all media organisations and journalists in Europe and around the world. This precedent means that any journalist can be extradited for prosecution in the United States for having published truthful information.”
The US Department of Justice confirmed that Assange has been charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.
“The charge relates to Assange’s alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States,” a statement said, accusing him of helping Ms Manning crack a password for government computers.
“If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.”
Sources told CNN that officials expect to bring additional charges against Assange.
Footage showed him being dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy by plain-clothed police officers and put into a waiting van at about 10.30am on Thursday.
Scotland Yard said officers were invited into the embassy by the ambassador, following the Ecuadorian government’s withdrawal of asylum. The South American country granted asylum to Assange almost seven years ago.
Ecuador’s foreign minister said Assange’s Ecuadorian citizenship had also been suspended, while the interior minister accused him of intervening in Ecuadorian affairs.
President Lenin Moreno said: “In a sovereign decision Ecuador withdrew the asylum status to Julian Assange after his repeated violations to international conventions and daily life protocols.”
His arrest came a day after WikiLeaks accused the Ecuadorean government of an extensive spying operation against Assange.
WikiLeaks claimed meetings with lawyers and a doctor inside the embassy over the past year were secretly filmed.
The group said removing Assange’s political asylum was a violation of international law and the United Nations has raised concerns over the case.
WikiLeaks revealed last year there was a sealed indictment for his arrest in the US and had been pressing for assurances from the British government that he would not be sent to the US if he left the embassy.
“This goes to show that in the UK nobody is above the law,” Theresa May told the House of Commons today.
The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said the arrest was the result of careful diplomacy.
“This will now be decided properly, independently by the British legal system respected throughout the world for its independence and integrity and that is the right outcome,” he added.
“Julian Assange is no hero. He has hidden from the truth for years and years and it is right that his future should be decided in the British judicial system.”
Marise Payne, the Australian foreign affairs minister, said she was confident Assange would receive due process from the UK legal system.
She said Australian officials would travel to Britain to meet him, adding: “Mr Assange will continue to receive the usual consular support from the Australian government.”
In 2016, the British government rejected a UN report that said Assange’s conditions amounted to “arbitrary detention”.
Then last week, the UN special rapporteur on torture warned that if Assange was expelled from the Ecuadorian embassy and extradited to the US there was a “real risk of serious violations of his human rights”.
Nils Melzer said Assange’s health was in serious decline and reminded member states of the prohibitions on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
“I urge the British government to refrain from expelling, returning or extraditing Assange to the United States or any other jurisdiction,” he added.
“Extradition without due-process safeguards, including an individual risk assessment and adequate protection measures violates international law, particularly if the destination state practices the death penalty and has not disclosed the criminal charges held against the person concerned.”
Assange fled to the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012 over fears that the US would use a rape investigation in Sweden to extradite him.
But Sweden dropped the probe, without determining innocence or guilt, in May 2017 because of logistical difficulties. Assange had denied the allegations.
A lawyer representing the woman, who alleged that she was raped by Assange during a visit to Stockholm in 2010, said the arrest was something “we have been waiting and hoping for”.
Elisabeth Massi Fritz said the complainant’s legal team “are going to do everything” to have the Swedish case continued.
The Independent understands that Swedish prosecutors are currently deciding whether to reopen the investigation, which can be resumed before August 2020 under the country’s statute of limitations.
The current chief prosecutor, Ingrid Isgren, suggested the UK had not informed Sweden of Assange’s arrest in advance.
“This is news to us too, so we have not been able to take a position,” she said.
In the US, political pressure to act against Assange increased after Donald Trump was elected as president.
The American political and military establishment was originally shaken by leaked diplomatic cables, battlefield reports and footage from Iraq and Afghanistan.
WikiLeaks came under fresh scrutiny for releasing Democratic emails hacked by Russian operatives, which hit Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election chances.