175 years in a US prison: that’s the sentence Australian Wikileaks founder Julian Assange could be facing. Julian is currently in London with legal proceedings underway to decide whether or not he is extradited to the US to face espionage charges. In this episode we get you up to speed on Julian’s story so far, going back to 2010 when he and Wikileaks made headlines for the release of almost 400,000 classified US documents about the war in Iraq.

 

Today we find out what’s going on for Julian right now when we speak with Jen Robinson, his Australian lawyer in London who’s been working on the case the whole time. She joins us in the midst of the evidential stage of the extradition hearing.

 

We find out:

• His emotional and psychological state. 
• What is the argument they are making in this case? What would it take and what hope do they have of getting this UK court to refuse the US extradition order? 
• What happens if the UK refuses extradition what happens to Julian, and if they don’t what happens? 
• How does he want the Australian government to intervene? 
• Is there any hope that Trump could pardon Assange? 
• The timeline of the extradition and what the next few years look like for Julian and his legal team.

 

In today's news headlines:

• Restrictions ease in Melbourne
• Federal budget "bent, not broken" as JobKeeper wound back
• Trump’s US Supreme Court pick named

 

Follow The Briefing

Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAU
Twitter: @TheBriefingAU 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.