We Shouldn't Extradite Anyone To Donald Trump's America: James O'Brien
12 April 2019, 11:01 | Updated: 12 April 2019, 11:03
James O'Brien revealed where he stands on whether or not the UK should extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the US to face charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.
Julian Assange has been found guilty of breaching his bail conditions hours after he was forcibly removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London following seven years of refuge.
The WikiLeaks founder is facing extradition to the US on charges of conspiring to break into a classified government computer, where he could face a maximum jail sentence of five years.
In other developments, Swedish prosecutors have said that a woman who has accused Assange of rape has asked for the investigation to be re-opened.
James O'Brien referred to Assange's revelation of war crimes as "important journalism" but also conceded that it was illegal, saying that it was not a straight-forward issue.
James also pointed out that Assange had skipped bail before being extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault charges, acknowledging that the situation was complicated.
"It would be right to extradite him to Sweden, it would not be right to extradite him to America, at this point in proceedings", James said.
James was also critical of Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott for expressing their position against extraditing Assange to the US but without referencing the sexual assault allegations in Sweden.
"It seems to me deliberately obtuse..." James said, describing their actions as ignorant and insensitive.
Going back to his original point, James continued: "I don't think we should extradite anyone to Donald Trump's America, because [Trump's] proven the regime is clearly corrupt... we wouldn't extradite anyone to Saudi Arabia would we?"
