Appearing for the US (prosecutors) are James Lewis and Clair Dobbin.— Mac William Bishop (@MacWBishop) February 26, 2020
Appearing for Assange (defense) are Edward Fitzgerald, Mark Summers and Florence Iveson.
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser is magistrate.
For those interested in familiarising themselves with the 253-page Extradition Act, it’s here: https://t.co/nUhWVYUfhG— Mac William Bishop (@MacWBishop) February 26, 2020
I haven’t found a good pdf version of the US/UK extradition treaty, but I did find a 488-page review of the UK’s extradition arrangements which discusses it at length. The relevant section on the US/UK treaty starts at page 231.https://t.co/GnZuTSRJ9D— Mac William Bishop (@MacWBishop) February 26, 2020
I’m happy to share that light reading with you as you start your day.— Mac William Bishop (@MacWBishop) February 26, 2020
Fitzgerald begins by discussing the fact that 17 of the 18 charges are under the Espionage Act; the 18th is conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.— Mac William Bishop (@MacWBishop) February 26, 2020
The magistrate is asking him to summarise his position.
Fitzgerald says the US/UK treaty itself is part of the legality of the extradition request; he is noting that the UK’s Extradition Act 2003 does not contain the same exception for “political offences” as does the treaty. But, he argues, the US/UK treaty’s provision still applies.— Mac William Bishop (@MacWBishop) February 26, 2020
Fitzgerald is trying to establish that Assange’s detention is “unlawful,” under Article 5 of the ECHR.— Mac William Bishop (@MacWBishop) February 26, 2020
The magistrate replies that if Fitzgerald is seeking to establish that Assange’s detention is unlawful, Defense must establish that it is unlawful under English law.