Mexican President Offers Julian Assange Political Asylum in Mexico

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on January 4 that he would request that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange be offered political asylum in Mexico, calling a judge’s refusal to grant extradition to the US a “triumph of justice.”

Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled on Monday that Assange’s extradition to America would have an “oppressive” impact on his mental health. Assange faces espionage charges in the US from his release of confidential documents in 2010 and 2011.

López Obrador celebrated the decision to deny Assange’s extradition from England, where he remains incarcerated at Belmarsh prison in London.

The Mexican president said he would ask for Assange to be freed and would grant him protection in Mexico. Credit: Andrés Manuel López Obrador via Storyful