- Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against his possible extradition to the United States.
- The legal dispute over Assange’s extradition should thus be decided by the highest British court.
- In December, another court ruled that Assange could be extradited.
The High Court in London thus follows the reasoning of Assange’s lawyers. The US judiciary wants to put Assange on trial for allegations of espionage. The native Australian faces up to 175 years in prison if convicted.
He is accused of having stolen and published secret material from US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan together with whistleblower Chelsea Manning, thereby endangering the lives of US informants. His supporters, on the other hand, see him as an investigative journalist who brought war crimes to light.
Legend:
The native Australian has set himself the goal of making secret documents generally available. He founded the Wikileaks disclosure platform in 2006.
Keystone / Archive
The 50-year-old has been incarcerated in London’s Belmarsh high-security prison for more than two years. A British court had initially prohibited Assange’s extradition to the United States due to his mental health. However, the USA had doubted the corresponding medical reports, lodged an appeal and was also successful. An appeals court lifted the extradition ban last December. Assange now wants to have this decision reviewed before the Supreme Court.