International
Julian Assange wins right to appeal extradition to US, remains in UK prison for now

Julian Assange, Embassy Of Ecuador on May 19, 2017 in London, England.
From LifeSiteNews
By Frank Wright
On Monday Julian Assange won the right to appeal his extradition to the United States, where he would face espionage charges, on the grounds that he could not be guaranteed a defense under the First Amendment.
In a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice to decide his fate, imprisoned journalist Julian Assange has won the right to appeal his extradition to the United States.
The May 20 ruling means his transfer to the U.S. to face charges under the Espionage Act is delayed. He was granted the right to appeal, in his absence, on the grounds that he could not be guaranteed a defense under the First Amendment in the United States.
The move came despite assurances from U.S. lawyers and could see Assange face months more imprisonment whilst an appeal is prepared.
Leave to appeal welcomed
Assange’s lawyers have questioned assurances that he will not face the death penalty if extradited to the U.S. to face 18 charges claiming his publications through WikiLeaks damaged U.S. national security and endangered the lives of U.S. agents.
No agent has been harmed as a result of Assange’s disclosures.
The U.K.’s National Union of Journalists welcomed the move.
READ: Julian Assange’s show trial could determine the future of press freedom in the West
At this crucial juncture, this judgment serves as a positive step forward for Assange and for every journalist seeking to reveal truths through their reporting… We welcome today’s judgment and hope it is the first step in victory for Assange.
Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, appealed for Assange’s immediate release:
President Biden should do the right thing now and clear the way for Assange’s release.
Five years and counting
Assange has been held for over five years in the maximum security prison of Belmarsh, South London, following his expulsion from the embassy of Ecuador in which he had sheltered over the previous seven years. This, according to his wife, has made him a “political prisoner.”
“The U.K. and U.S. are happy to talk about political prisoners abroad,” said Stella Assange, in a moving video account of Assange’s ordeal published on the morning of the hearing. “But they have created a political prisoner of their own.”
BREAKING: Julian Assange wins right to challenge US extradition in High Court pic.twitter.com/w1Fg1zbMrh
— Double Down News (@DoubleDownNews) May 20, 2024
She points out that whilst war criminals such as former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair are free and very prosperous, Assange has been denied the right to appear at his own trials since 2021. What is more, she says, “Julian did nothing wrong. He exposed war crimes.”
She explained why he was imprisoned – as a punishment for revealing war crimes through his organization, WikiLeaks.
Julian is in prison because WikiLeaks is a publisher which specializes in the secrets that states keep the most hidden.
She went on:
Julian revealed war crimes committed by the superpower, the United States. That superpower has punished him.
She argues that the case extends the right of states to suppress press freedom beyond its own borders. This, she says, provides a precedent for critics of any regime worldwide to be targeted and silenced in the same way.
Stella Assange, a human rights lawyer, says evidence held by WikiLeaks shows that 30 former intelligence agents have said there was a plot to assassinate Assange by the CIA.
The plot was revealed in October 2021 and documented in a piece from the same month by Patrick Cockburn titled “The CIA plot to kidnap or kill Julian Assange in London is a story that is being mistakenly ignored.”
The beginning of the end?
The current head of WikiLeaks, the outlet formerly headed by Assange, branded the court’s decision as a win, according to Consortium News.
‘This was a watershed moment in this very long battle,’ said WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn at an event following the hearing. ‘Today marked the beginning of the end of the persecution. The signaling from the courts here in London was clear to the U.S. government: We don’t believe your guarantees, we don’t believe in your assurances.’
Keeping Assange ‘caged’
Yet independent journalist Glenn Greenwald saw a darker motive in the long, drawn-out process of Assange’s continuing confinement.
I'm always glad when Assange has a legal win against the US's dangerous attempt to drag him to the US to prosecute him.
But the fact that he will still wallow in a high-security prison — more than 10 years in captivity for no conviction other than bail jumping — is sickening: https://t.co/PwKa8PZ83P
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 20, 2024
His post on X (formerly Twitter) referred to the initial removal of Assange from the London Embassy of Ecuador, in which he had taken refuge in 2012.
Following accusations now withdrawn, an arrest warrant had been issued for Assange in 2010. His retreat into the Ecuadorian embassy saw him confined there for seven years.
However, 24 hours after WikiLeaks published details of high-level corruption in Ecuador, he was handed over to British police on April 11, 2019. He has been in custody or prison ever since.
Greenwald added:
The real purpose of pressuring Ecuador to remove its asylum protection for Assange, and now Biden’s relentless extradition demands, is not to bring Assange to the US for trial – the [White House] does not want that – but to keep Assange caged and destroyed.
The United Nations has long condemned his treatment, saying the British government was “arbitrarily detaining” him without charge.
Responding to one X user who said the courts were simply “kicking the can” by postponing a judgement, Greenwald replied again:
Yes, but Assange quite reasonably views extradition to the US as the worst of all options, because if that happens, he will be disappeared into a dungeon, tried in E. Virginia with national security judges who convict everyone, and then will die in a US cage.
Appeals and hope for release
With this grim fate in mind, the Defend Assange Campaign released the following appeal for his immediate release on X:
Julian Assange will remain isolated, in a cell in the UK’s harshest prison for the foreseeable future, following today’s granting of an appeal by the UK high court[.]
For over 13 years detained in one form or another – it is time to bring this charade to an end…
Julian Assange will remain isolated, in a cell in the UK’s harshest prison for the foreseeable future, following today’s granting of an appeal by the UK high court
For over 13 years detained in one form or another – it is time to bring this charade to an end #FreeAssangeNOW pic.twitter.com/YRJ7omc0i1
— Defend Assange Campaign (@DefendAssange) May 20, 2024
Hopes that President Biden, seeking to reconcile his tarnished image with younger voters, would drop the charges against Assange seem to be fading.
What remains in this box is not hope, as with that of Pandora, but a man who dared expose the crimes of the rulers to the ruled.
His treatment is an example to us all, and it is one which speaks a dark truth about those who remain in power.
Former U.K. ambassador Craig Murray, a longtime supporter of Assange, spoke outside the courtroom following the news:
“We are on the way to getting Julian out. We are on the way to victory in this battle” – @CraigMurrayOrg speaking after Assange granted right to appeal
Livestream: https://t.co/tOe9QXtAdC
Donate here: https://t.co/DZ0FVln2gE#MayDayMayDay #LetHimGoJoe #FreeAssangeNOW pic.twitter.com/gYEhXPB1lh
— Free Assange – #FreeAssange (@FreeAssangeNews) May 20, 2024
“We haven’t got Julian out just yet… But we are on the way… to victory in this battle,” he said.
Murray, who recalled the 12 years he has spent in supporting Assange, gave the crowd a resoundingly confident message:
And we are seeing at last an acknowledgement of the crucial importance of freedom of speech, freedom of information, and of the public’s right to know.
And those are the grounds on which we will win this case.
2025 Federal Election
Ottawa Confirms China interfering with 2025 federal election: Beijing Seeks to Block Joe Tay’s Election

Sam Cooper
The announcement marks the first time SITE has publicly confirmed that China is directly seeking to block the election of a particular candidate during the 2025 federal election—an election already shadowed by growing concern over Chinese interference through cyber operations and diaspora political networks.
One week before Canadians head to the polls, Ottawa has confirmed an escalation in China’s election interference efforts, identifying Conservative candidate Joseph Tay as the target of a widespread and highly coordinated ongoing transnational repression campaign tied to the People’s Republic of China.
The SITE Task Force—Canada’s agency monitoring information threats during the election—formally disclosed today that Tay, the Conservative Party candidate for Don Valley North, is the victim of inauthentic online amplification, digital suppression, and reputational targeting orchestrated by networks aligned with Beijing’s foreign influence operations.
The announcement marks the first time SITE has publicly confirmed that China is directly seeking to block the election of a particular candidate during the 2025 federal election—an election already shadowed by growing concern over Chinese interference through cyber operations and diaspora political networks.
“This is not about a single post going viral,” SITE warned. “It is a series of deliberate and persistent activity across multiple platforms—a coordinated attempt to distort visibility, suppress legitimate discourse, and shape the information environment for Chinese-speaking voters in Canada.”
SITE said the most recent coordinated activity occurred in late March, when a Facebook post appeared denigrating Tay’s candidacy. “Posts like this one appeared en masse on March 24 and 25 and appear to be timed for the Conservative Party’s announcement that Tay would run in Don Valley North,” SITE stated in briefing materials.
One post, circulated widely in Chinese-language spaces, featured an image that read: “Wanted for national security reasons, Joe Tay looks to run for a seat in the Canadian Parliament; a successful bid would be a disaster. Is Canada about to become a fugitive’s paradise?”
Significantly, according to The Bureau’s analysis, the post’s message resembles earlier remarks made by then-Liberal MP Paul Chiang to a small group of Chinese journalists in Toronto in January—comments made shortly after Tay’s inclusion on a Hong Kong bounty list was first publicized.
Chiang reportedly told the journalists that Tay’s election would raise significant concern due to the bounty he faced, before suggesting that Tay could be turned over to the Chinese consulate in Toronto.
Tay, a Hong Kong-born human rights advocate, was named in December 2024 by Hong Kong authorities as one of six overseas dissidents subject to an international arrest warrant and monetary bounty. His photograph appeared on a wanted list offering cash rewards for information leading to his capture—an unprecedented move that Canadian officials condemned as a threat to national sovereignty.
“The decision by Hong Kong to issue international bounties and cancel the passports of democracy activists and former Hong Kong lawmakers is deplorable,” SITE stated today. “This attempt by Hong Kong authorities to conduct transnational repression abroad—including by issuing threats, intimidation or coercion against Canadians or those in Canada—will not be tolerated.”
However, while facing an international wave of criticism, Prime Minister Mark Carney did tolerate his candidate’s alleged role in this activity. When asked earlier in the campaign whether he stood by Chiang, Carney said the Liberal MP retained his confidence. Chiang ultimately stepped down only after the RCMP confirmed it was reviewing the matter.
Chiang, who had been endorsed by Prime Minister Carney, was replaced as the Liberal candidate by Peter Yuen, the former Deputy Chief of the Toronto Police Service.
As The Bureau previously reported, Yuen traveled to Beijing in 2015 with a delegation of Ontario Chinese community leaders and politicians to attend a major military parade hosted by President Xi Jinping and the People’s Liberation Army—an event commemorating the Chinese Communist Party’s Second World War victory over Japan.
Yuen’s presence at that event—and his subsequent appearances at diaspora galas alongside leaders from the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations (CTCCO), a group cited in national security reporting—has drawn media scrutiny.
Both Chiang and Yuen have stated that they strongly support Canada’s rule of law and deny any involvement in inappropriate activities.
According to SITE’s findings, Tay’s campaign has been the focus of two parallel strands of foreign influence since the beginning of the writ period. The first involves inauthentic and coordinated amplification of content related to Tay’s Hong Kong arrest warrant, including repeated efforts to cast doubt on his fitness for office. This activity has spanned multiple platforms commonly used by Chinese-speaking Canadians, including WeChat, Facebook, TikTok, RedNote, and Douyin.
The second strand is a deliberate suppression of Tay’s name in both simplified and traditional Chinese on platforms based in the People’s Republic of China. When users attempt to search for Tay, the platforms return only information related to the Hong Kong bounty—effectively erasing his campaign content and political biography from the digital public square.
While SITE noted that engagement levels with the disinformation remained limited, the timing, repetition, and cross-platform consistency led the Task Force to conclude this is a serious case of foreign interference.
The Bureau is a reader-supported publication.
To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Invite your friends and earn rewards
International
JD Vance was one of the last people to meet Pope Francis

From LifeSiteNews
By Matt Lamb
Vice President JD Vance was one of the last people to meet Pope Francis, as he saw him yesterday on Easter. Francis met with Vance, before he traveled to St. Peter’s Square to give a blessing to thousands gathered for Easter.
The pope died this morning at 7:35 this morning in Rome.
Vance, a Catholic convert, said his “heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.”
“I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill,” Vance wrote on X. “But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful.”
“May God rest his soul,” Vance wrote.
Vance linked to a March 27, 2020 homily titled “Extraordinary Moment of Prayer.”
Pope Francis said:
Embracing His cross means finding the courage to embrace all the hardships of the present time, abandoning for a moment our eagerness for power and possessions in order to make room for the creativity that only the Spirit is capable of inspiring. It means finding the courage to create spaces where everyone can recognize that they are called, and to allow new forms of hospitality, fraternity and solidarity. By his cross we have been saved in order to embrace hope and let it strengthen and sustain all measures and all possible avenues for helping us protect ourselves and others. Embracing the Lord in order to embrace hope: that is the strength of faith, which frees us from fear and gives us hope.
Vance was in Italy this week, as he also met with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He also attended a Good Friday liturgy at the Vatican, as reported by the Associated Press. However, it remained unclear if the vice president would meet with the Pope, although he had a scheduled meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
In February, Pope Francis appeared to directly address Vance’s citation of “ordo amoris” where the vice president argued that the country must first take care of its own citizens before refugees and illegal immigrants.
As LifeSiteNews previously reported:
Earlier this year Pope Francis issued a blistering letter, appearing as a direct rebuff to both President Donald Trump’s policies to tackle illegal immigration and JD Vance’s comments about the “ordo amoris.”
Francis took direct aim at Vance about the “ordo amoris” – the Catholic teaching on a hierarchy or order of charity which starts with God, the family, and spreads eventually to the wider world – a principle defended and outlined by the Greek philosophers and Catholic theologians such as Sts. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas.
Repeatedly referring to the “infinite dignity” of man, Francis appeared to suggest that, based on this dignity, all people should be loved to the same degree and in the same way, thus defending his principle that the same dignity should be the principle behind having widely permissive immigration policies.
As extensively reported by LifeSiteNews, the pope’s health has been in decline for several months now since he was first admitted to the hospital in February for bronchitis, which turned out to actually be double pneumonia. A full obituary by LifeSiteNews’ Senior Vatican Correspondent Michael Haynes can be read here.
-
Alberta2 days ago
Province to expand services provided by Alberta Sheriffs: New policing option for municipalities
-
2025 Federal Election2 days ago
CSIS Warned Beijing Would Brand Conservatives as Trumpian. Now Carney’s Campaign Is Doing It.
-
Bruce Dowbiggin2 days ago
Is HNIC Ready For The Winnipeg Jets To Be Canada’s Heroes?
-
Alberta2 days ago
Made in Alberta! Province makes it easier to support local products with Buy Local program
-
2025 Federal Election2 days ago
No Matter The Winner – My Canada Is Gone
-
Health2 days ago
Horrific and Deadly Effects of Antidepressants
-
2025 Federal Election2 days ago
Campaign 2025 : The Liberal Costed Platform – Taxpayer Funded Fiction
-
2025 Federal Election2 days ago
A Perfect Storm of Corruption, Foreign Interference, and National Security Failures