MORE than 150 lawyers have written to Boris Johnson accusing authorities of violating the law in the extradition case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

A total of 152 legal experts and 15 lawyers’ associations wrote to the PM on Friday, the day of Mr Assange’s final administrative hearing before Old Bailey hearings scheduled from September 7.

The lawyers called on the government to grant Mr Assange’s “long overdue freedom,” and said authorities have violated “national and international law.”

Mr Assange is wanted in the US to face 17 charges under the Espionage Act, as well as conspiracy to commit computer intrusion after WikiLeaks published classified documents, including those exposing war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

He has been in HMP Belmarsh since he was carried out of London’s Ecuadorian embassy, where he lived for almost seven years, by British police in April 2019. He was refused bail in March. 

Lawyers have complained of serious violations of human rights and due process, denial of a fair trial and “judicial conflicts of interest.”

In the 10-page letter, they said that Emma Arbuthnot, who as Chief Magistrate oversees Mr Assange’s extradition proceedings, has been shown to have “financial links to institutions and individuals whose wrongdoings have been exposed by WikiLeaks.”

They also stated that, 24 hours prior to Friday’s hearing, the US Department of Justice lodged another indictment with the British court to replace the existing indictment against Mr Assange 14 months after deadline, despite no new information or charges.

Defence lawyers argued that the court accepting the new indictment constitutes “an abuse of legal process.” 

The signatories also allege that Mr Assange’s legal privilege has been “grossly violated” through illegal seizure of confidential documents and “constant and criminal” surveillance of conversations with lawyers inside the Ecuadorian embassy.

They add that prison authorities have been “severely restricting both the frequency and duration of his legal visits.” 

Among the signatories are Lord Hendy QC, Australian barrister Julian Burnside AO QC, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, and the Association of American Lawyers (AAL).

AAL general secretary Luis Carlos Moro said: “The extradition of Mr Assange sets a risky precedent for the entire democratic world, because it represents, rather than due process of law, an undue process of political persecution.”

In July, more than 200 doctors from 33 countries called for an end to the “complicit silence” of British officials over the “psychological torture and medical neglect” of Mr Assange.