Assange launches extradition fight

Julian Assange has started his fight against extradition to the US over allegations he conspired to break into a classified Pentagon computer.

The Wikileaks founder appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court for his first extradition hearing since being hauled out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he hid for nearly seven years. The Australian appeared via videolink from Belmarsh prison to a packed courtroom yesterday.

He formally refused to consent to being extradited during a hearing that lasted a little over ten minutes. The 47-yearold said: “I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that has won many awards and protected many people.”

Shortly after Assange was removed from the Embassy on 11 April this year, US prosecutors announced he had been charged with conspiring alongside intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to infiltrate a Pentagon computer.

The charge carries a maximum of five years’ imprisonment and relates to Assange’s “alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information” in US history.