CIA accused of spying on lawyer Julian Assange | Abroad

Richard Roth, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, said the CIA, which was under the direction of Mike Pompeo, violated the privacy rights of American journalists and lawyers, in violation of the Constitution. The data from their phones and computers is said to have been copied by a security company hired by Ecuador and passed on to the intelligence service.

The US judiciary wants to try the 51-year-old Assange for publishing classified military documents and espionage, for which he could face up to 175 years in prison. The Australian could, among other things, be responsible for the killing of informants from the US armed forces. Assange has been in hiding in the Ecuadorean embassy in London for a long time. The British government agreed to extradite him to the United States earlier this year. Assange appealed to the High Court in London to prevent this.

The CIA, which declined to comment on the lawsuit filed in New York, is not permitted by law to collect intelligence on American citizens. Attorney Roth said a fair trial in the United States was no longer possible. He suggested withdrawing the extradition request.