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Today is Julian Assange’s last chance to stop UK officials extraditing him to the US.

It has been almost 12 years since the WikiLeaks founder, now 52, stepped into the Ecuadorian embassy in London to evade arrest.

Over the next two days, the High Court will hear his final appeal against being sent to the US, where he faces charges for helping former military analyst Chelsea Manning download top secret intelligence files that WikiLeaks published online.

Assange‘s wife says he will “die” if he’s extradited. His legal team has also promised to lodge a final appeal at the European Court of Human Rights if this week’s attempt fails.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange leaves the High Court in London December 5, 2011. British judges ruled on Monday that Julian Assange, founder of the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, could take his year-long fight against extradition to Sweden to the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW MEDIA)
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WikiLeaks founder leaves London’s High Court in 2011. Pic: Reuters

What did WikiLeaks do – and how was Assange involved?

In 2010 and 2011 WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of US military and diplomatic documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It has repeatedly been described as “one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States”.

Prosecutors, politicians, and the intelligence community say the disclosure endangered the lives of agents working in the field, but WikiLeaks supporters claim it helped expose alleged wrongdoing by the US.

The leaked documents came from Chelsea Manning, who was working as an analyst for the US military in Iraq at the time.

She was then known as Private Bradley Manning, but now identifies as a woman having transitioned in prison.

Chelsea Manning's first photo after she was released from prison. Pic: Twitter
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Chelsea Manning following her release from prison in 2017. Pic: Twitter/X

According to the indictment, Manning “downloaded four nearly complete databases from departments and agencies of the US”.

They contained “approximately 90,000 Afghan war-related significant activity reports, 400,000 Iraq war-related significant activities reports, 800 Guantanamo Bay detainee assessment briefs, and 250,000 US Department of State cables”.

Among the 750,000 published WikiLeaks documents was a video from 2007 showing a US helicopter firing on a group of civilians in Baghdad. The attack killed 12 people, including two wounded children and two Reuters photographers.

File photo dated 11/04/19 of Julian Assange arriving at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, after the WikiLeaks founder was arrested and taken into custody following the Ecuadorian government's withdrawal of asylum. Julian Assange has won his fight to avoid extradition to the United States.
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Picture by: Victoria Jones/PA Wire/PA Images
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Assange arrives in court in a prison van in 2019. Pic: PA

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According to the indictment, around 7 March 2010, Manning and Assange discussed the value of Guantanamo Bay detainee assessment briefs.

Prosecutors say they have court documents that prove Manning said she was “throwing everything [she had] on JTF [joint task force] GTMO [Guantanamo Bay] at [Assange] now”.

The papers say she later told Assange: “After this upload, that’s all I really have got left,” to which Assange replied: “Curious eyes never run dry in my experience”.

Pamela Anderson visits Julian Assange at Belmarsh prison
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Pamela Anderson visits Julian Assange at Belmarsh prison in 2019. Pic: PA

Vivienne Westwood joined the protests calling for Mr Assange's release
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Late fashion designer Vivienne Westwood at a Free Assange protest. Pic: PA

The following day, the indictment alleges Assange “agreed to assist Manning in cracking a password stored on US Department of Defence computers… connected to the secret internet protocol”.

“Manning was able to log onto the computers under a username that didn’t belong to her,” the indictment reads, adding that Assange provided special software to hack the system.

“Manning then used the computer to download everything WikiLeaks later published,” the indictment concludes, between 28 March and 9 April.

Julian Assange pictured in January 2020
Image:
Julian Assange pictured in January 2020

Manning was arrested, tried by court-martial, and later convicted of various espionage offences in 2013, and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Days before he left office in 2017, President Barack Obama reduced her sentence and she was released.

But she was jailed again in 2019 after refusing to give evidence to a grand jury investigation into WikiLeaks and its involvement in the 2016 US election.

US officials have said there was Russian interference in the vote, but Assange has never been charged in relation to that allegation.

WikiLeaks published emails hacked from Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, which resulted in the Democrats suing the website, alongside the Russian state, and Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign team.

A supporter of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange protests outside Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, ahead of his continuing extradition hearing. Picture date: Wednesday April 20, 2022.
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An Assange supporter outside court in London in 2022. Pic: PA

What is he charged with?

When Assange was arrested inside the Ecuadorian embassy in May 2019, the US indictment against him was unsealed, revealing a single charge of “conspiracy to commit computer intrusion”.

This was expanded later that month to include 17 new charges under the US Espionage Act, including conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information, conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, obtaining national defence information, and disclosure of national defence information.

The indictment was issued by the Eastern District of Virginia and would mean a total sentence of 170 years in prison, if he was found guilty on all charges.

In June 2020, a US grand jury ruled to “broaden the scope” of Assange’s alleged computer intrusions to claims he worked with hackers to help illegally obtain information for WikiLeaks.

File photo dated 13/01/20 of Julian Assange. The US government's legal challenge over a judge's decision not to extradite the Wikileaks founder is to be heard by the High Court. Assange, 50, is wanted in the US on allegations of a conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following WikiLeaks' publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Issue date: Wednesday October 27, 2021.
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Assange pictured inside his prison van. Pic: PA

How has he avoided extradition so far?

Assange’s political asylum in London dates back to a 2010 Swedish arrest warrant for alleged rape charges.

He took shelter in the embassy after failing to appeal extradition to Sweden, fearing the US was planning charges against him and that he may be sent there after a sentence in the Scandinavian nation.

Assange was inside the embassy for seven years, in which time the Swedish case expired, but the US began compiling its own case.

Eventually the Foreign Office accused Ecuador of preventing the proper course of justice and the South American nation withdrew its asylum offer, paving the way for Assange to be removed from the embassy and arrested in 2019.

Julian Assange pictured with his partner Stella Morris
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Julian Assange and his now-wife Stella Assange (right), formerly part of his legal team. Pic: PA

Since then, he has been held at Belmarsh maximum security prison in south London.

In January 2021 a judge ruled he could not be extradited due to his risk of suicide in a US jail. But the decision was later overturned after the US gave additional assurances.

This week is the final stage of the UK appeals process.

Stella Moris outside after her wedding ceremony
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Stella Moris outside HMP Belmarsh after her wedding ceremony

Ahead of the hearing, his wife Stella Assange, who he married while at Belmarsh in March 2022, said: “His health is in decline, physically and mentally.

“His life is at risk every single day he stays in prison – and if he is extradited he will die.”

Assange’s native Australia has tried to intervene in the case, but without success so far.

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Obamas planned to see Reiners the night they were killed, says ex-US first lady

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Obamas planned to see Reiners the night they were killed, says ex-US first lady

Michelle Obama says she and husband Barack Obama were due to see director Rob Reiner and his photographer wife Michele Reiner the night they were killed.

The former US first lady has paid tribute to the couple, who were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home on Sunday night.

The Reiners’ son, Nick, 32, was arrested and will be charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents.

Michelle Obama revealed the couple had been due to meet the Reiners the night they died. File pic: AP
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Michelle Obama revealed the couple had been due to meet the Reiners the night they died. File pic: AP

Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ms Obama said of the Hollywood couple: “We’ve known them for many, many years, and we were supposed to be seeing them that night.”

Rob Reiner was active in politics, supporting liberal causes.

Ms Obama’s comments came after Donald Trump suggested the 78-year-old died because of his anti-Trump views.

He referred to the director as “tortured and struggling” and said he and his 68-year-old wife had died “reportedly due to the anger he caused” by opposing the Republican president.

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Reiners were ‘not deranged’

Ms Obama said: “Let me just say this, unlike some people, Rob and Michele Reiner are some of the most decent, courageous people you ever want to know.

“They are not deranged or crazed. What they have always been are passionate people in a time when there’s not a lot of courage going on.”

File pic: AP
Image:
File pic: AP

The former first lady highlighted how caring the couple were; stating they cared about their family, country and fairness and equality.

In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump suggested the Reiners died “reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as Trump derangement syndrome”.

“He was known to have driven people crazy by his raging obsession of President Donald J Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before.”

Rob Reiner with Hillary Clinton. Pic: Reuters
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Rob Reiner with Hillary Clinton. Pic: Reuters

Rob Reiner was known for directing some of the most-loved films of the 1980s and 1990s, including the rom-com When Harry Met Sally and the legal thriller A Few Good Men.

Tributes pour in

Former US presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton as well as former US speaker Nancy Pelosi also paid tribute to the director.

Mr Obama added: “Beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people – and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action.”

Michelle Obama spoke to Jimmy Kimmel. Pic: AP
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Michelle Obama spoke to Jimmy Kimmel. Pic: AP

Among the other high-profile figures paying tribute was actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who played Reiner’s ex-wife in the hit comedy series New Girl. She said: “I will always remember them as they lived. Passionate. Political. Surrounded by family and friends.”

US actor Kevin Bacon, who starred in A Few Good Men, appeared emotional in a video he shared on Instagram, praising the director for giving him the role.

Bacon said: “The making of that movie was one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had on a set.

“It was a magical time. So, I’m just sending love to everybody that knew him, because I know that everyone’s hurting today.”

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Reiner’s other films included The Princess Bride (1987), Ghosts Of Mississippi (1996) The Story Of Us (1999), The Magic Of Belle Isle (2012) and LBJ (2016).

Actress and activist Jane Fonda said she was “reeling with grief” in a post on Instagram, while Stephen King, whose books were adapted into Reiner’s 1986 Stand By Me and 1990’s Misery, said he was “horrified and saddened” by the death of the Reiners.

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Doctor sentenced over Matthew Perry’s death

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Doctor sentenced over Matthew Perry's death

A doctor has been sentenced to eight months of home confinement over the fatal overdose of Friends star Matthew Perry after pleading guilty to a drugs charge.

Mark Chavez, whose sentence included three years of supervised release, addressed the judge on Tuesday, saying he had recently lost a loved one and understood the grief that Perry’s death caused.

“I just want to say my heart goes out to the Perry family,” he added.

Mr Chavez admitted to selling ketamine to another doctor, Salvador Plasencia, who supplied ketamine to Perry.

Plasencia contacted Chavez, 55, after learning that Perry, whose history of drug addiction was well documented, was interested in obtaining ketamine.

In text messages, Plasencia told Chavez – who previously ran a ketamine clinic – “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets [sic] find out”.

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Matthew Perry in 2015. File pic: Reuters
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Matthew Perry in 2015. File pic: Reuters


Chavez, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, admitted in his plea agreement to diverting ketamine from his former clinic to sell to Plasencia.

He also admitted to making false representations to a wholesale ketamine distributor in a bid to get more of the drug for Plasencia, submitting a bogus prescription in the name of a former patient without her knowledge or consent.

Plasencia was introduced to Perry in September 2023 by one of his patients, who described the actor as a “high profile person” willing to pay “cash and lots of thousands” for ketamine.

The same day they met, the doctor contacted Chavez, and drove to Costa Mesa to purchase $795 (£590) in ketamine vials and tablets, syringes, and gloves from him.

Plasencia then drove to Perry’s Los Angeles home, injected the star with ketamine, and left at least one more vial of ketamine with Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, 60, who paid the doctor $4,500 (£3,350).

Plasencia is said to have distributed 20 vials and multiple tablets to Iwamasa and Perry, netting $57,000 (£42,500) from 30 September to 12 October, 2023, despite the going price of ketamine being roughly $15 (£11) per vial.

Salvador Plasencia. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Salvador Plasencia. Pic: Reuters

The 44-year-old was jailed for two-and-a-half years on 3 December after pleading guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, having already surrendered his California medical license.

However, he did not supply the dose that killed Perry, who was found drowned in his hot tub at home after taking ketamine in October 2023.

Iwamasa, 60, admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine, despite having no medical training, including multiple times on the day he died.

He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death and will be sentenced in January.

Also charged is Erik Fleming, 54, who admitted in court documents that he supplied the ketamine that killed Perry, having distributed 50 vials to Iwamasa – half of them four days before Perry died.

He further stated he obtained the drug from 42-year-old Jasveen Sangha, a dual US-UK citizen, nicknamed the “Ketamine Queen”.

Fleming pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.

Sangha pleaded guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

They will be sentenced in January and February respectively.

Perry had been taking ketamine legally as a treatment for depression, but sought more of the drug and started taking it unsupervised in the weeks before his death, acquiring it illegally from different sources.

The actor starred in 10 seasons of Friends, from 1994 to 2004, alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, as well as appearing in the 2021 reunion show.

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Brown University shooting: New image and video released of ‘person of interest’

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Brown University shooting: New image and video released of 'person of interest'

Police investigating a deadly shooting at a US university have released a new image and video clips of a “person of interest”.

It comes as the manhunt for a gunman who killed two Brown University students and injured nine more in a classroom continued for a fourth day.

The shooting on Saturday afternoon unfolded on the first floor of the engineering and physics building while exams were taking place.

A law enforcement official said the attacker fired more than 40 rounds from a 9mm handgun in Providence, Rhode Island.

The new image showed a man dressed in dark clothing, wearing a black hat and face mask, walking down a street that day.

In all of the videos made public, the suspect’s face was either covered by a mask or turned away. He is described as stocky and about 5ft 8in (173cm) tall.

Authorities have released a video timeline showing the movements of the person of interest, including of him before the attack, in the hope that someone might recognise him.

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The clips showed a man walking briskly, and at one point running, between 2pm and 3pm local time, along several different streets, about a block away from the building where the attack would later take place.

The shooting happened at 4.03pm, and another clip showed the same person from a distance walking from the building’s car park towards the street, even as police cars with flashing lights arrived at the scene.

The final clip showed the man walking along that street about three minutes after the shooting.

Authorities on Sunday released a man who had been detained in connection with the attack.


Manhunt under way for university gunman

Read more:
Video of ‘person of interest’ in Brown shooting

Police have said there was no clear video of the gunman from inside the building.

Attorney general Peter Neronha said there were cameras in the newer part but “fewer, if any, cameras” where the shooting happened “because it’s an older building”.

The attack and the gunman’s escape have sparked concerns about campus safety, including the absence of security cameras, and led to calls for improved door locks.

More details about victims emerge

The students who were killed were Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from Birmingham, Alabama, and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Brandermill, Virginia.

Ms Cook was vice president of the College Republicans club at Brown University and Mr Umurzokov, whose family came to the US from Uzbekistan when he was a child, was an aspiring neurosurgeon.

The Reverend R Craig Smalley described Ms Cook as “an incredibly grounded, faithful, bright light” who encouraged and “lifted up those around her”.

In a GoFundMe post, Mr Umurzokov’s family described him as “incredibly kind, funny, and smart”.

“He always lent a helping hand to anyone in need without hesitation, and was the most kind-hearted person our family knew,” they said.

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