{UAH} Julian Assange: What is extradition and how does it work? ~ Ugandans At Heart (UAH)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-51586120?SThisFB&fbclid=IwAR2kWnw3AdzO61lqL5U406Me1dBdv6izzTu9T9TfajtqEiX2QRKxEs0v-eY

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's extradition hearing has opened in a London court.

The US says he is guilty of hacking into and publishing US military databases, but he says the case is politically motivated.

So, what is extradition and how does it work?

What is Julian Assange accused of doing?

Assange is accused of conspiring to hack into US military databases to acquire sensitive secret information, which was then published on the Wikileaks website.

He says the information exposed abuses by the US military. US prosecutors say the leaks of classified material endangered lives, and so the US is seeking his extradition from the UK, where he is currently in prison.

Assange had spent almost seven years inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, saying he was a victim of human-rights abuses and would face a life sentence if extradited.

At the time he fled to the embassy, he had been facing extradition to Sweden on allegations of sexual assault - a case that was later dropped.

What is extradition?

Extradition is the internationally recognised legal process under which one country can ask another to hand over a suspect to face trial.

It is one of the cornerstones of justice in the modern world. It helps nations to co-operate in tracking down criminals, and to then send them to face trial in the country where their offences were committed.

How is extradition agreed between countries?

Extradition is governed by treaties - the legal agreements between states - and then specific laws within each country. Those treaties and local laws set out the circumstances and rules for extradition.

Some nations have very tight rules - Germany's constitution, for instance, allows only the extradition of its own citizens to other EU states or international courts.

The European Union has a unique system that means it is really easy and fast for one member state to send a criminal to another to face trial. The UK remains part of that system until the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December.

So how does extradition from the UK to the US work?

Every time the United States wants to put a suspect who is in the UK on trial, its prosecutors ask the British government. If the request has been made correctly, the home secretary sends it on to the courts, which then issue a warrant for the suspect to be found and arrested.

Once the individual has been detained, a judge examines the request. The judge must be satisfied that the individual is definitely the suspect the US is after and that the alleged crime is an offence that could lead to trial in the UK, had the incident happened on its territory.

The judge must also consider other bars to extradition, such as whether the person has already been prosecuted for the crime or whether the offence happened in a different country entirely.

"When a man is stung by a bee, he doesn't set off to destroy all beehives"

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