By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Portal) – A group of journalists and lawyers are suing the CIA and its former director Mike Pompeo over allegations that the agency spied on them when they visited WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange while he was at the Ecuadorian embassy in London .
The lawsuit states that the CIA, under Pompeo’s command, violated the privacy rights of these American journalists and lawyers by allegedly spying on them.
“The United States Constitution protects American citizens from government abuse even though the activities take place in a foreign embassy in a foreign country,” said Richard Roth, an attorney representing the plaintiffs.
The CIA, which declined to comment on the lawsuit, is barred from collecting information about US citizens, although several lawmakers have claimed the agency maintains a secret archive of communications data.
Assange has appealed to London’s High Court to prevent his extradition to the United States to face prosecution in a legal battle that has dragged on for more than a decade.
According to the lawsuit, before visiting Assange, the journalists and lawyers had to turn in their electronic devices to Undercover Global SL, a private security firm that once guarded the embassy. The lawsuit alleges that the company copied that information and made it available to the CIA, which was then headed by Pompeo.
Assange spent seven years at the embassy before being jailed in 2019.
Assange is wanted by US authorities on 18 charges, including espionage charges in connection with WikiLeaks’ release of confidential US military documents and diplomatic cables.
His supporters say he is an anti-system hero who has fallen victim to the exposure of irregularities committed by the United States in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.