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Lawyers: Assange’s conditions for extradition to US not met

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2016, file photo WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks on the balcony of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. President Barack Obama’s decision to commute Chelsea Manning’s sentence quickly brought fresh attention to another figure involved in the Army leaker’s case: Julian Assange. In a tweet in early January 2017, Assange’s anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks wrote, “If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ case.” (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File) FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2016, file photo WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks on the balcony of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. President Barack Obama’s decision to commute Chelsea Manning’s sentence quickly brought fresh attention to another figure involved in the Army leaker’s case: Julian Assange. In a tweet in early January 2017, Assange’s anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks wrote, “If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ case.” (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

By Associated Press January 18, 2017 1 min read

PARIS (AP) – Lawyers for Julian Assange say U.S. officials still haven’t met the WikiLeaks founder’s conditions for agreeing to be extradited to the United States.

Last week, Assange offered not to fight extradition if Chelsea Manning were offered clemency. His lawyers now say he was demanding that Manning be freed “immediately.”

Manning, who was convicted of sending thousands of secret documents to WikiLeaks, was given clemency Tuesday by President Barack Obama and will be freed in May, almost 30 years ahead of schedule.

Assange’s U.S. lawyer Barry Pollack insisted that Assange was being consistent. He said Wednesday “why would he be calling for Manning’s release in a few months?”

But Assange made no mention of an immediate release in his offer. Critics accused him of going back on his vow.