Russia backs Julian Assange, says charges 'ostentatiously absurd'

Russia on Saturday backed Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Maria Zakharova, Spokeswoman for Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Assange faced 'ostentatiously absurd charges'. She said that he has 'already suffered years of isolation for his belief, and apparently took a dig at 'developed democracies'.

"In US J.#Assange faces up to 175 years in prison, which tells a lot about “developed democracies”. He is being punished on ostentatiously absurd charges, while he has already suffered many years of isolation for his beliefs, faced overt mental pressure & torture," Zakharova was quoted as saying by Russian Embassy in South Arica on Twitter.

💬#Zakharova: In US J.#Assange faces up to 175 years in prison, which tells a lot about “developed democracies”. He is being punished on ostentatiously absurd charges, while he has already suffered many years of isolation for his beliefs, faced overt mental pressure & torture pic.twitter.com/YTrP3kVyeA — Russia in RSA 🇷🇺 (@EmbassyofRussia) April 23, 2022

A court in UK on April 20, passed a formal order for extradition of Assange to th US, something that he has fiercely resisted for years. He faces charges in the US that could send him to jail for 175 years.

Also Read | Who is Julian Assange and why is he being extradited to the US?

The charges were slapped against Assange, founder of Wikileaks, after the website leaked thousands of US diplomatic papers and cables. This included those related to USAs war in Iraq and Afghanistan. This had caused major embarrassment for the US globally.

To evade his extradition to the US, Assange spent years inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London.

According to Assange's legal team, releasing sensitive information exposed US malfeasance and was in the public interest.