U.K. ORDERS ASSANGE’S EXTRADITION TO THE U.S.

The British government on Friday ordered WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States to face espionage and hacking charges, but his attorneys said they will seek to keep him in Britain by pursuing new appeals.

Assange has been held in a London prison since 2019, after seven years evading arrest by seeking political asylum in the Ecuadoran Embassy.

His attorneys argued that he was at high risk of suicide under the restrictions he might face while in U.S. custody.

The British Home Office said in a statement that “the UK courts have not found that it would be oppressive, unjust or an abuse of process to extradite Mr. Assange. Nor have they found that extradition would be incompatible with his human rights, including his right to a fair trial and to freedom of expression, and that whilst in the U.S. he will be treated appropriately, including in relation to his health.”

Priti Patel, the British home secretary, signed the extradition order. The home secretary is the final authority on extradition in the British system — although Assange has other legal avenues he can pursue to block the move and experts say his arrival in the United States is far from imminent.

The Home Office said Assange “will only be surrendered to the requesting state when all avenues of legal challenge are exhausted.”

In a statement, the WikiLeaks organization condemned the decision to extradite as “a dark day for press freedom and for British democracy,” calling the home secretary “an accomplice of the United States in its agenda to turn investigative journalism into a criminal enterprise.”

The organization said Assange’s legal team will appeal: “Today is not the end of the fight. It is only the beginning of a new legal battle. We will appeal through the legal system, the next appeal will be before the High Court.”

A grand jury in Virginia indicted Assange on 18 counts, including conspiracy and disclosure of national defense information. Prosecutors allege that he worked with former Army private Chelsea Manning in 2010 to obtain and publish thousands of pages of military records and diplomatic cables about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The release of the information, officials have alleged, put lives in danger. Assange says he was within his rights as a journalist and publisher in seeking out and disseminating information on controversial U.S. activities.

Barry Pollack, a U.S.based attorney for Assange, said, “This is disappointing news that should concern anyone who cares about the First Amendment and the right to publish.”

Stella Assange, a former lawyer for the WikiLeaks founder and now his wife and mother of their two children, said at a news conference in London that extradition to the United States would have “extremely serious implications” for journalism, human rights and Julian Assange personally.

“We’re going to fight this,” she said. “I’m going to spend every waking hour fighting for Julian until he is free.”