The following statement can be attributed to Chip Gibbons, Policy Director, Defending Rights & Dissent:

We are extremely disturbed by today’s decision by a UK High Court Judge to reject Julian Assange’s appeal against extradition to the US. Although we understand he has further legal options in the UK, we call on the Biden Administration to end this persecution now and drop the Trump-era charges.

The US government seeks to prosecute Assange for his legitimate journalistic activity that exposed war crimes, corruption, and abuses of power. The prosecution of Assange under the Espionage Act is inherently illegitimate. On top of that, the legal case against Assange is irrevocably tainted by the extralegal war multiple intelligence agencies have waged on the Australian publisher. 

The Biden Administration must heed the calls of nearly every human rights and press freedom organization, major newspapers, and members of Congress and drop these charges once and for all.