Julian Assange’s case to be allowed an appeal of his extradition to the US is coming up in the High Court of Justice in London next week. We requested permission to attend via the court’s broadcast link but were refused. What’s the scam?
Should Assange fail in his appeal, there is every chance that his extradition warrant will be executed, and he’ll be sent to the US and tried there. It is, of course, a case of much interest to an Australian audience.
However, after a lengthy exchange of emails with a court officer, this publication was refused access to merely view (not to comment or be heard) the video stream on the grounds that there was “no sufficient reason given as to why it would be in the interests of justice to grant remote access from outside England and Wales.”
It seems to us that the current Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Dame Sue Carr, needs to be reminded of the words of her illustrious predecessor, Lord Hewart, who famously said:
Justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done.
We will never know if the court officer had concerns for our well-being having to stay up late to watch the proceedings, or if she genuinely believed that those pesky colonials down south are not worthy to report on a case of one of their countrymen.
We can only hope that Julian Assange is served with better justice. Seen or not.
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