For WikiLeaks supporters based in the UK the very idea that as tax payers we fund state persecution against the WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange is a point of grave consternation. Some of the the legal costs the British taxpayer is forking out are via the Crown Prosecution service, so it is of interest to know if it has been officially classified as a CPS Very High Cost Case (VHCC) by the institution itself. Further more, it would be of interest to know if indeed it has been classified as such, which criteria it satisfied in order to qualify.

Here are the criteria for classification:

Any case in which two or more of the following criteria apply:

• The case involves an exceptional and significant international dimension
• The case is likely to give rise to widespread public concern
• The case involves exceptionally sensitive material relating to the effective working of one or more law enforcement or intelligence services
• The case has serious implications for the future operation of extradition
arrangements or for diplomatic relations either with the requesting country or more
generally, or for the general principles of extradition law

Time to file a Freedom of Information Request!

Political Cartoon by @VanhouteghemE depicting US Lawyer in action at Belmarsh Magistrates Court 24-27 Feb 2020

Update 3/7/20:

The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed that the Julian Assange case is a CPS Very High Cost Case (VHCC) based on the criteria that:

• The case involves an exceptional and significant international dimension
• The case is likely to give rise to widespread public concern
• The case has serious implications for the future operation of extradition
arrangements or for diplomatic relations either with the requesting country or more
generally, or for the general principles of extradition law

Read here the complete FOIA response.

More on some associated costs http://archive.is/gyNSW