UK approves Julian Assange's extradition to the US

Source: Insider

The UK has approved Julian Assange's extradition to the US, where the WikiLeaks founder faces hacking and espionage charges, the UK Home Office confirmed Friday.

Assange faces a total of 18 charges in the US, where he is accused of conspiring to hack government computers and breaching the Espionage Act when WikiLeaks published a trove of confidential military and diplomatic documents in 2010. He faces up to 175 years in prison if he is convicted.

Assange is appealing the decision, WikiLeaks said in a statement shortly after the Home Office decision was published. The Home Office had given him 14 days to do so.

"This is a dark day for press freedom and for British democracy," WikiLeaks said, accusing Home Secretary Priti Patel of being "an accomplice of the United States in its agenda to turn investigative journalism into a criminal enterprise."

"The path to Julian's freedom is long and tortuous. Today is not the end of the fight. It is only the beginning of a new legal battle," it said.

"We will fight louder and shout harder on the streets, we will organize and we will make Julian's story known to all."

Assange previously argued that he was at risk of suicide and self-harm in the US.

But a Home Office spokesperson said in a statement seen by Insider: "In this case, 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 US he will be treated appropriately, including in relation to his health."

Assange lived in Ecuador's embassy in London as an asylum seeker from 2012 — after he lost an extradition case to Sweden — to April 2019, when Ecuador withdrew its protection of him and the police dragged him out of the building. He was then taken to prison in the UK, and the US requested to extradite him.