A UK court’s refusal to extradite Julian Assange to the US on medical grounds is a blow to journalism since the judge has sided with the US in its justification for prosecuting him, UN rapporteur Nils Melzer told RT.
Melzer became a supporter of the WikiLeaks founder after digging into his situation in his official capacity as UN Special Rapporteur on torture. He said he is happy for Assange personally, but the Monday ruling, which denied his extradition to the US on espionage charges, was still a huge disappointment for him.
“It is certainly a victory in the sense ‘a battle won’ but we also have to be aware that the judgement went very, very far in confirming the basic rationale that underlines the US indictment. It essentially criminalizes investigative journalism,” he told RT.
