I refuse to be extradited, Assange tells court

JULIAN Assange says he is not willing to be extradited to the US for journalism he claims has ‘won many awards’.

The WikiLeaks founder, 47, began his extradition battle yesterday three weeks after he was dragged out of Ecuador’s London embassy, where he had taken refuge for almost seven years.

At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, he faced claims that he conspired to hack into a classified Pentagon computer.

In a 10-minute hearing via a videolink from Belmarsh prison, he formally refused consent to extradition, saying: ‘I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that has won many awards and protected many people.’

He was remanded in custody to appear again via videolink on May 30.