British court approves extradition of Assange to US, ball now in govt court
LONDON: A United Kingdom court on Wednesday issued a formal order to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face trial over the publication of secret files relating to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
The decision now rests with interior minister Priti Patel, although Assange may still appeal within 14 days of any decision to approve the extradition.
The ruling on Wednesday by a magistrate in central London brings the long-running legal saga in the UK courts closer to a conclusion.
But Assange’s lawyers have until May 18 to make representations to Patel and could potentially launch further appeals on other points in the case.
The case has become a cause celebre for media freedom, with Assange’s supporters accusing Washington of trying to muzzle reporting of legitimate security concerns.
Assange was last month denied permission to appeal to the UK supreme court against moves to extradite him to the US, where he could face a lifetime in prison.
Assange is wanted to face trial for violating the US Espionage Act by publishing military and diplomatic files in 2010.
He could face up to 175 years in jail if found guilty, although the exact sentence is difficult to estimate.
He has been held on remand at a top-security jail in southeast London since 2019 for jumping bail in a previous case accusing him of sexual assault in Sweden.
That case was dropped but he was not released from prison after serving time for breaching bail on the grounds he was a flight risk in the US extradition case.