ask. that's true but. i gauged the press freedom on one man in particular publisher julian saunders a british judge rules against him to the us citing mental health concerns. meanwhile the u.s. has already announced it will appeal the court decision we speak to some of the signs of support is outside the london court. for whatever reason it's fantastic. he's got to tell the truth so.

i. just because he's a terrific guy. the decision is a milestone in the almost 10 years saga from sexual assault allegations in sweden to the espionage case in the us and 29000 the saunders arrested after being holed up in the ecuadorian embassy for 7 years and until now has been waiting for a decision over his extradition to the united states. good afternoon you're watching international just gone 4 o'clock in moscow good to have you company now we'll start this hour with breaking news because a u.k. court has rejected a u.s. extradition request for june the sangita concerns about his mental health he will

remain in custody while the u.s. government decides whether to appeal the decision it has 2 weeks to do so and there were massive celebrations outside the london courthouse when the judge announced. yes. that's true was there you. were was of. 6 was. that was you. you you. was. that it was. ok well let's go live now to the courthouse in london where shadi edward stash he has been stationed for so over the last few hours

a so we were just looking at pictures there jubilant scenes earlier and i can still hear many supporters side the court had. was that everything was absolutely fine was she having read eunice on does not fit in the story a moment outside the framework of her was charged i was ready to actually do it you know so much to the united states has been a decision based on i was meant to house friends and indeed it was 6 right if you were to be extradited to the united states it is a very unexpected result because bunch up until the last moment the judge had said that the case was not politically motivated he said she said that he would not he would face it in the united states under the u.s. constitution for that the 11th hour the judge actually said no to do so it would

not be actually i said to the united states that it really is incredible since we've just heard from so morris the partner of judy in the sun she says actually right now we cannot fully celebrating. you can only fully celebrate when judas sarge is port hope but this is the 1st step to justice we've also heard from the wiki leaks editor and chief christian who roughed her up to and he said again yet it's not over when featured in just yet norway for jonas and just yet but there should be more pressure applied on to the united states for the u.s. government to finally say enough is enough because of course judah soldier has been wanted by the united states for his alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the united states and if he were to be found guilty he would have been sentenced up to a 175 years behind prison that's under the u.s. is indictments of 18 counts under the espionage act for spying and publishing tons of 5 documents all related to the war in iraq and afghanistan plus one of

conspiracy to hack a government computer to publish these documents as well though according to today's sun just defense the united states was trying to prosecute yunus on the political grounds it was a politically motivated casing said of course if it is politically motivated that would therefore mean that you know a soldier was exempt from actually titian on to the u.k. you asked extradition treaty how as a prosecutor said the absolute opposite that it was not politically motivated and in fact curious on endangered the lives of hundreds of thousands of people for publishing these classified documents so although today is a victory in essence for june a surge as the judge did of course say that it was not politically motivated enough a serious concern for journalism going forward on the future of journalism as well you know i spoke to rebecca vincent from reporters without borders and she says that journalists need to be protected. so we're relieved very much and share the court's assessment of his serious mental health risk but we're concerned that the

rest of the decision leaves the door open for possible other prosecutions on similar grounds because until that point she came to that point of the decision it seems very much that the case would have. and in favor of the prosecution so without the mental health issues at play somebody else in that same situation could have indeed been extradited to the u.s. to face charges there so this pointed out broader systemic issues that need to be addressed the not the astronaut act must be reformed it locks a public interest offense if any publisher any journalist any source finds himself subject to similar proceedings they cannot adequately defend themselves. so the 3rd it hit today was one thing stone medical grounds of course students on his defense team said that he was totally unfit to travel to the united states both in terms of his physical health and his mental how the post you know son has been holed up in not exactly door into the sea for a whopping 7 and a hope is that he was put into a belmarsh prison for almost 2 years and his mental and physical health has been seriously deteriorating but it wasn't just his mental and physical health here in

the united kingdom but what could happen to him if he were to be sent to the united states he would have had to serve that sentence if found guilty and convicted in any text colorado jail that's one of america's most notorious jails in fact home to some of the world's was criminal last march drug kills terrorists you name it there in that most notorious prison and that's exactly where judy an assault was going to be had it so that huge sentence that prospect of the future like that was something that really bent the judeans mental house was really at breaking point i his lawyer says that he was having suicidal tendencies and was hundreds of times a day so that is pretty much the key reason why the judge today said that that is so stupid that's of faith that he was not going to be facing having said that as i do mention it's not in terms of journalistic freedoms we're still out a point where the fact is not over just yet we understand that

a decision on whether or not you're in a search will be granted bail or not will come on wednesday and of course the united states is appealing this verdict today they still are on the hunt for judas urging. yes they still want to see if you distort execrated united states to go back to really isn't over yet but in time to support his campaign is that outside the criminal court here today it wasn't just you in a sense that was in the dock but actually the fundamental tenets and principles of the rights and freedoms of expression and the press but also for the public to access information as well so it is a big day for tourists but there's still a long way to go when it comes journalistic freedom. ok thank you. stash reporting live there. in london we can i go to now is mel so he's the united nations special rapporteur on torture he joins us from a very much appreciate your time this afternoon i know you've been very critical of

british authorities in the dealing with junior sanchez are you surprised by the court decision today. yes and no i mean i'm positively surprised going to very much welcome the decision of non extradition to the u.s. based on the assessment that she would be exposed to oppressive conditions of detention in the us something that i have been saying all along and with me plenty of other you know lawyers and experts so this is certainly a victory in a sense that it's a powerful one but i think we also have to be aware that the judgment went very very far in come for me the basic rationale that underlie the u.s. indictment and in a sense that essentially criminalize investigative journalist because the refusal of extradition was given only based on medical grounds which are purely strictly

based on his individual medical condition which is certainly correct but it leaves me and tyner approach the intimidating persecution of investigative journalism in tact and without actually having judicial decision on that it is a sort of business way to die for people when you look at it as a whole as you say they recognize the state of his mental health but when you look at the implications for journalism it is pretty worrying what are your thoughts on the chances of in the pale succeeding for the united states how much chance they have of a turning this decision. well personally i don't think the appeal would succeed because of the reason the medical reasons really are very difficult to overturn based on eagle arguments these this is just a medical scientific reality that i have personally been able to confirm with my medical team when i visited today and i found in belmarsh in may 2000 my team this

is not something you can easily overturned on appeal but on the other hand we also should look at it politically the u.s. doesn't really lose that much it with this judgement it confirms this rationale and this whole narrative of criminalizing investigative journalism and before blowing it avoids even to the tiny risks that it would still have that its own supreme court in the u.s. might overturn. a judgment against to an innocent based on on the 1st amendment of the constitution as was done in the pentagon papers case at the time the little boy got risk and maintain that the freckle new narrative that they have established in the last 10 years against investigative journalist and i think we have to recognize that other investigative journalist just who may not have a. important health issue could still be extradited to the u.s.

based on the exactly same charges. on the issue the fact that he's not being extradited on the basis of his mental health he was responsible for the state of his mental health. and that's thank you for bringing it up because that's another issue that we have that is not being addressed by the judgment that i mean to the sounds of what i have known of him is a very resilient person but he has been brought to the breaking point to 10 years of persecution. joint persecution for political reasons by sweden by the united kingdom by the u.s. by ecuador and none of this is being addressed she is not being compensated and not receiving justice for the ill treatment here suffered and it certainly was a show of force and power that is intimidating to other journalists and publishers around the world it's been my way to address this because i know you have i know

you've been investigating this a lot and i've seen you in the media a lot explaining all of this but then what happens if the accusations that the british government and the authorities have been acting active turn in the treatment of doing the songe what should happen to british authorities. well clearly i mean i have asked the british government and other governments by the way each of them to investigate their own contribution to the ill treatment of persecution of doing the funds as they are required to do under their treaties they have ratified the anti torture convention at the covenant on civil and political rights and they have all refused to do that so somehow you could also say that today's judgment as much as it is to be celebrated for today the founders personally it was also a kind of a face saving way out for those government to try to avoid being held to account for what they have done to them just looking to the future and i said that the pail

is unlikely to be won by the united states but assuming i have a time genius on his mental health improves does not open the way then his expedition. well i i think you would probably have to talk to the legal team about the precise legal implications of such a change of circumstances but you're certainly getting to a sense of point here because that's precisely what we are facing here is that in the grand scheme of things the threatening narrative is being maintained and it could also disservice to intimidate other publishers but it could also serve to trim a date during their stance to retire to his previous activities and pursue his profession as it used to do. ok so i mean overall listening to what you're saying i've spoken to wiki leaks supporters say thing jubilant but speaking to. just sense that you're not happy with what's happened today. well i'm extremely happy fortuna

sounds as a person but he should not have been brought to a point where he's suicidal he has been persecuted to a point where he has been broken and now they basically the system is spitting him out and you know obviously that is a legal obligation but in offense the system has succeeded in intimidating the world and passing the message that this is what's going to happen to you if ever you have to the idea of publishing our dirty secrets and making that known to the world ok now smell so really good to talk to this afternoon we appreciate you giving us your time there's nothing else the united nations special rapporteur on social thank you thank you very much. well earlier we discussed the implications of the denied action dish request with the pardon with london assembly member david curtain and also organizes the don't extradite songe campaign jiang race they both

had come out to support the wiki leaks founder of site the code. i wasn't sure what to expect but i'm so happy that it's. been discharged for whatever reason it's fantastic i mean there's so many people who've been campaigning for an awful long time against this injustice when he's gone through 1011 years of hell 1st under house arrest and in belmarsh prison for the simple crime of journalism which isn't a crime he's standing up for freedom of speech he's done nothing but tell the truth he's been treated as a political prisoner object or the east mental health has suffered an unknown people opposed to him has said that that is the case this this is not just about him personally it's about journalism it's about freedom it's about freedom of speech it's about freedom of the press and all those things are being undermined both in this country by the actions of the people in the united states they're trying to get him to be extradited of pushing this action here was the right

absolutely remarkable decision 95 percent of the judges remarks were in favor of the u.s. i mean favor of extradition she threw my political because you threw out public interest depends only in the last moment for a decision did she say the american prison system is so brutal so pressing it to you would be at risk of suicide if i sent him to be america or america saw and not going to you know this is the end of the story you will go to a higher court so this is just because it is a terrific day what she said about markets much more worrying because she said there's no public interest there's no we there's no defense for journalists. like proper journalists or you to actually do what most journalists do because mr wilson there's no public interest but these are these were very very bad remarks. like a lot as you can get on a fix now the events that led up to the songes long fight the freedom. julian his

son has come a long way from an obscure activist to freedom fighter or traitor depending on who you are squarely one thing you can deny him though is that he led the charge that we kill leaks to dig up the secrets that america's intelligence colossus spent billions of dollars burying and he succeeded. the.

field reports from iraq military logs from afghanistan sensitive documents from guantanamo bay none of which made the u.s. look particularly good i would argue that it's closer to being the high tech terrorist it is it i mean international community i'm not for the death penalty so if i'm not for the death i don't want to do it illegally shoot the son of a. great discredit to this nation should be assassinated he should be treated as an enemy combatant it didn't take long for a son to experience firsthand what it means to be uncle sam's public enemy the us went after the whistleblower launching a probe into his actions at the same time a seemingly unrelated sexual assault investigation was opened. in sweden

a son himself though claimed it was all part of americas to extradite him by all means possible the pressure mounted so when 2012 sons requested asylum from ecuador and holed up in the country's embassy in london this kicked off what would become a long 7 years of confinement with even the u.n. calling for an end to this suffering various forms of deprivation of liberty to which julian assad has been subjected constitute a form of arbitrary detention the working group maintains that the arbitrary detention of mr signage should be brought to an end instead the old things short from bad to even worse for a sandwich ecuador's new president who was looking for warmer relations with the u.s. seemed to take personal offense when we can leaks wrote about corruption allegations against him sanj was shown the door artie's video agency ruptly turned out to be

the only outlet to catch the moment asuncion was literally carried out of the building some 7 years after he stepped in it. was. once u.k. law enforcement got their hands on a son they threw him in prison a proper one but the u.s. government is looking to try him under american law where the whistleblower faces more than a 100 years behind bars now every cording that emerged in line has sparked another wave of calls to pardon the whistleblower in the tape ironically julian assange it was trying to help u.s. authorities minimize the fallout of the 2011 leaks. of an. hour here is that it's more or. but we have been calling

the state department and the embassy. over a day trying to explain. ok hold back donald trump since your given pardons to people please consider pardoning those who at great personal sacrifice expose the deception and criminality of those in the deep state mr president if you grant only one ex of clemency during your time in office please free julian assange goes you alone can save his life i'm hoping that he will pardon julian assange it's the right thing to do so far from has remained to the pleas the julian assange just saga has been going for so long it feels like it could be over any minute but flashing back to how it's been going so far it seems like we've just turned the page on another chapter human rights activist and former british diplomat craig murray who was one of those granted access to a songes extradition hearing shared his emotions after the course decision we are

delighted delighted but here soon going to be a free man again today we are swept away by our joy 5. oh. for sure we be with us i'm delighted we have seen some humanity at the end of the earth it doesn't really matter in the sense how over justice has been reached even if it's been reached by a peculiar process so a recap then earlier today a london court made the shock decision not to extradite a songe to america based on concerns for his mental health america has said that it will appeal against the decision that's our breaking news for this hour we're going to take a quick break we'll be back with more news just after this break. the

war in syria has lasted longer than world war 2. who has been suffering the most in this almost undoubtedly long conflict regular syrian people. need is more of that than when you my friend here she goes way west i could see everything with my own eyes and hear the stories of its residents one group in particular russian wives of syrian man. they were close to look up to it's english national just like it's. join me every thursday on the all excitement and i'll be speaking to get a feel of the world of politics or business i'm show business i'll see

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welcome back to r.t. international now america is a fact seen rollout isn't quite going to plan the country missed its target of an ocular 820000000 people by the end of 2020 and only managed to give the job to fewer than 3000000 taylor has more on the story. it might be a new year but it's cool to buy the same old problems on the fust day of 2021 the us hit $20000000.00 kovac 19 cases but just out was before as the clock struck midnight thousands flooded the streets hoping that the next $365.00 days would just be that little bit that.

i've been scared i don't know what will happen 1st rule for 2021 don't talk about 2020 and i believe this is there we go she started here we did. that everything is going to get better actually working at the c.v.s. and his own crazy with the coded vaccine and everything right now we really hope that everything goes back to normal this christmas i new year many wished for a return to our old normal lives something top medical advisors have been promising was just around the corner by the time we get into all of 2021 we could be approaching some level of normality tuns out though the very thing they said would quite literally set us free the fact scene is cool top in it's own trauma president

health experts in operation warp speed hope to have 20000000 americans vaccinated by now but things are going slower than 1st thought there is now growing frustration building over the slow roll out of the corona virus vaccines across the u.s. there's only a small percentage of the vaccine that's been distributed by the federal government that has actually been administered the massive vaccination campaign against the coronavirus in the u.s. has gotten off to a slower start very slower start there's no way we can speed this up in the near term 14000000 doses of the fine and madonna fight scenes have been distributed across america but fewer than 3000000 have been administered it why well donald trump says he's done his job but states aren't doing that. the federal government has distributed the vaccines to the states now it is up to the states to administer get moving a blame game that didn't go down well with those who say it's a lack of direction from the top that's left people i worked in the cold. that

comprehensive vaccination plans have not been developed at the federal level and sent to the states as models is as and comprehensible as it is inexcusable it was unrealistic to assume that the health care workers already overburdened with covert care could take on a massive vaccination program many of those of the bugs and health care while because on now protesting they say they were promised a vaccine and instead face and miscues and crashing apps if lucky that's despite being in contact with infected people all hours of the day for 10 months straight the promise to vaccinate them as a priority fell apart as quickly as the promise to inoculate 20000000 by the end of 2020 so if they're not going to the risk groups where all they going while no one apparently there are delays at every corner of the number is lower than the us we

hope for we know that it should be better and we work hard to make the best tons out the holiday period and snow storms on what a smooth rollout means but even once the holidays end in the snow melts if nothing changes unless say it would take almost 10 years to vaccinate enough americans to control the virus gives a whole new meaning to a peroration warp speed and the mess continues on a local level 2. is it just normal teasing problems of one of the most ambitious vaccination campaigns in u.s. history or is it just incompetence at every level either way it looks like to cure

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