A group of journalists and lawyers has sued the CIA. They allege that US intelligence allegedly spyed when they visited WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange while staying at Ecuador’s embassy in London.
Attorney Richard Roth alleges that the CIA under then Director Mike Pompeo stole data from the plaintiffs’ phones and computers. The data is said to have been copied by a security company hired by Ecuador and passed on to the intelligence service.
Roth says the CIA has violated the privacy rights of journalists and lawyers. Roth represents the plaintiffs.
The United States wants to try the 51-year-old Assange for publishing military secret documents and espionage. He could face up to 175 years in prison for that. The Australian founder of WikiLeaks could have caused the death of informants from the American armed forces with the leaking of the information.
Assange hid for years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The British government agreed to his extradition to the US earlier this year. Assange has appealed to the Supreme Court in London to prevent that.
In principle, the CIA is not allowed to collect intelligence about American citizens by law. A fair trial in the US is no longer possible, according to lawyer Roth. He suggested that the extradition request should be withdrawn.
The intelligence agency declined to comment on the lawsuit filed in New York.