CIA spied on Assange's lawyers
Spanish media report that a court order issued by Spanish High Court judge, Santiago Pedraz indicates that the content of communications between Julian Assange and his lawyers may have been illegally recorded during his time at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
Spanish newspaper El Pais names Spanish global security firm Under Cover (UC) as the one that would hand over information to CIA agents. The United States wants the extradition of Assange, a request that will be decided within the next two months by the British Interior Minister, Priti Patel.
If tried and found guilty in the United States, Assange could be sentenced to 175 years in prison for exposing controversial military operations by the Americans during the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and posting documents on the WikiLeaks website.
The Spanish court order sent by Judge Pedraz in the UK, as an explanation why the country's authorities should allow him to collect testimony from Assange's doctors and UK lawyers, one of whom is the well-known lawyer and human rights activist Gareth Peirce, who were spied on inside the Ecuadorian embassy.
Legal sources told El Pais that the extradition request could fail for violation of the right to defense if there is evidence that US intelligence agencies have been able to learn about Assange's defense by illegally spying on his legal and medical representatives. The revelations about the alleged espionage against Assange could leave the British judicial system in deep embarrassment.
Over two years ago, Pedraz sent out a request to interrogate Assange in a video conference and used a European Investigative Order (EIO) as a tool to secure cooperation from British authorities: Assange was treated as a witness in a lawsuit filed against Undercover Global. However, the UK side delayed this request by asking for more information, by not replying for months to documents that had already been provided for this purpose.
According to the Spanish newspaper, it is as if Great Britain wanted to obstruct the investigation. Meanwhile, the spied lawyers will continue to defend Assange even in the event of extradition.
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