KEY POINTS
- Julian Assange's wife believes it's unlikely he'll succeed in his last-ditch attempt to stop his extradition.
- If the judges who hear the case reject his application, he’ll have exhausted his legal options in Britain
- Assange has been fighting extradition from Britain to the US where he is wanted on espionage charges.
Julian Assange is facing what is likely to be his last shot at freedom — and his wife does "not have hope" it will succeed.
The Australian WikiLeaks founder will front the High Court in London on Tuesday in what could be the final bid to prevent his extradition to the United States.
There, he faces 17 espionage charges after WikiLeaks published a haul of classified documents about US operations in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars more than a decade ago.
While his supporters say he’s being punished for exposing American wrongdoing, US prosecutors allege Assange put the lives of sources at risk.
He faces a maximum 175 years in prison if convicted, although would likely serve considerably less.
His wife and lawyer, Stella Assange, after a press conference ahead of the two-day court hearing next week.
Last year when she addressed Australia's National Press Club, Stella Assange said .
Now, that hope has dimmed.
If the two judges who hear the case reject his application, he’ll have exhausted his legal options in Britain.
"I don’t have hope this will go our way," Stella Assange told SBS News. "And even if it were to go our way - meaning he’d have leave to appeal and have his arguments heard in full - then it would mean Julian continues in prison."
If Assange loses his appeal, then it’s almost certain an appeal will be lodged with the European Court of Human Rights to prevent his extradition to the US.
But there’s real concern among Assange’s team that the British government could try to put him on a plane before that can happen.
Stella Assange says its unclear if her husband would accept a plea deal if the US was to offer one. Source: AAP, AP / Kin Cheung
"There are examples where people have been brought from the courthouse… straight to the airport to be flown out on a rendition plane… so we prepare for the worst case scenario," she said.
Stella Assange says it’s now a matter of life and death for her husband.
"Julian will be put in a hole if he is extradited, there is no doubt about that," she said. "He will be put in a hole so far and deep in the ground that I don't think I'll ever see him again.”
At this point, it will likely take a political solution for Assange to walk free, rather than a legal one.
But Stella Assange says it’s unclear if the WikiLeaks founder would accept a , which would require an admission of guilt in exchange for freedom - if one was offered by the US.
“We know the plea deal system in the United States is the preferred system by prosecutors and that’s how they secure their convictions," she said.
But she was concerned there would be "implications for the rest of the press" if he were to accept such a deal.
Julian Assange has been held in London's Belmarsh Prison as he fights extradition to the United States. Source: AAP / Matt Dunham
"He's in a situation of extreme isolation that is threatening his life," she said, with his family having .
Stella Assange believes there’s now widespread public for her husband’s case to be resolved, noting Australia’s successful motion in parliament calling for him to be returned home.
That came on Wednesday when . Labor, crossbenchers, and Liberal Bridget Archer were all in favour, alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
"Of course politicians are responding to the public pressure, and that’s optimistic because there are countries where public pressure doesn’t matter," Stella Assange said.
Assange’s two-day hearing begins on Tuesday but a decision may not be handed down for months.
