Julian Assange news - live: WikiLeaks founder will not face ‘oppressive’ extradition to US, UK court rules

Journalist Glenn Greenwald has said that while he considers the decision against extraditing Julian Assange as “obviously good news”, it should not be hailed as a “victory for press freedom”. 

“This wasn't a victory for press freedom. Quite the contrary: the judge made clear she believed there are grounds to prosecute Assange in connection with the 2010 publication,” he said. “It was, instead, an indictment of the insanely oppressive US prison system for security ‘threats’.”

"Ultimately, though, from a humanitarian *and* a political perspective, what matters most is that Assange be freed as soon as possible. The US Govt doesn't care what prison he's in, or why: they just want him silenced and in a cage.

“He should be freed immediately," Mr Greenwald said.

After a short break, in which Julian Assange met with his legal team, court has resumed. 

Assange’s bail and the US’s decision to appeal are being discussed.

A bail application will not be in full until Wednesday, correspondent Lizzie Dearden reports from court.

Judge Baraitser has agreed to a further hearing at Westminster Magistrates' court after Julian Assange's lawyer, Ed Fitzgerald QC, requested to put off a full bail application until Wednesday.

Julian Assange supporters celebrated as they learned that British district judge Vanessa Baraitser had ruled against the WikiLeaks founder’s extradition.

Watch as the moment unfolded:

Amnesty International has said that it welcomes the decision against extraditing Assange, but said it does not “absolve the UK” from engaging in what it called a “politically-motivated” process. 

“We welcome the fact that Julian Assange will not be sent to the USA and that the court acknowledged that due to his health concerns, he would be at risk of ill-treatment in the US prison system. But the charges against him should never have been brought in the first place," Amnesty International’s Europe Director, Nils Muižnieks, said in a statement.

“The charges were politically-motivated, and the UK government should never have so willingly assisted the US in its unrelenting pursuit of Assange," he said.

“The fact that the ruling is correct and saves Assange from extradition, does not absolve the UK from having engaged in this politically-motivated process at the behest of the USA and putting media freedom and freedom of expression on trial. It has set a terrible precedent for which the US is responsible and the UK government is complicit,” Mr Muižnieks asserted.

Julian Assange’s mother, Christine Assange, has called on President Donald Trump and President-Elect Joe Biden to “stand down” on pursuing the extradition of her son. 

In a tweet published after a British judge ruled against extraditing the WikiLeaks founder, Ms Assange wrote: "UK Judge Vanessa Baraister ruled against extraditing my son Julian to the US on medical grounds.US prosecutors state they [will] appeal."

“I implore Pres Trump & Pres elect Biden to order  them to stand down,” she said. 

“The decade long process was the punishment. He has suffered enough,” she said.

Michelle Stanistreet, the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), offered a mixed response to Judge Vanessa Baraitser’s judgment on Monday. 

The NUJ general secretary described the ruling as “welcomed", but “troubling”.

 “This decision will be welcomed by all who value journalists' ability to report on national security issues. However, whilst the outcome is the right one, Judge Vanessa Baraitser's judgment contains much that is troubling,” she said in a statement published online.

"Her basis for dismissing the US's extradition request was the suicide risk that Assange poses in a US penal system that would probably have kept him in near total isolation.

“The judge rejected the defence case that the charges against Assange related to actions identical to those undertaken daily by most investigative journalists. In doing so, she leaves open the door for a future US administration to confect a similar indictment against a journalist. Given his lengthy period of incarceration, it is surely also time to grant Assange bail so that he can join his young family,” she said.

 Julian Assange’s fiancée Stella Moris has hailed the decision against extraditing the WikiLeaks founder to the US as a “victory" for her partner.

“Today is a victory for Julian. Today's victory is a first step towards justice in this case,” she said, addressing a crowd of supporters outside the Old Bailey, according to PA.

“I had hoped today would be the day Julian would come home. Today is not that day but that day will come soon,” she continued.

However, she said: "As long as Julian has to endure suffering in isolation as an unconvicted prisoner at Belmarsh prison, as long as our children continue to be robbed of their father's love and affection, we cannot celebrate.

“We will celebrate the day he comes home.”

WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson has said the US should face pressure not to appeal the decision against extraditing the outlet’s founder, Julian Assange, to America.

“I am concerned that instantly, upon giving her decision, the lawyers for the US government indicated they would appeal the decision. They should not,” he said. "And there should be a call out and pressure on the US side to drop the appeal, to say 'enough is enough'.

“We've had enough of this. We have plenty to deal with in this new year. But not this,” the WikiLeaks editor-in-chief continued.

He thanked supporters, but said: "Let's be cautious - no celebration, in our victory celebration, because the fight is not over.

Referencing the words of Assange’s partner, Stella Moris, he said: "It will be not over until Julian can go home and be with her and the boys."