Westminster Magistrate's Court to Issue Julian Assange Extradition Order on 20 April - WikiLeaks
13:17 GMT 02.04.2022 (Updated: 13:49 GMT 02.04.2022)
© Photo : Mohamed Elmaazi
Subscribe
Earlier, the UK Supreme Court refused to grant Assange permission to appeal against the London High Court decision to extradite him to the US.
The Westminster Magistrate's Court will issue an order to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the United States on 20 April, Wikileaks said on Saturday.
According to WikiLeaks, the case will then be referred to the head of the UK Home Office, Priti Patel for approval. In turn, Assange’s defence will be able to make submissions to Patel not later than 18 May, Wikileaks added.
In March, the UK top court refused to grant Assange permission to appeal against the London High Court decision to extradite him to the US, where he could face a lifetime in prison, arguing that the case "didn’t raise an arguable point of law."
Assange has been on remand at the Belmarsh maximum-security prison in southeast London since October 2020, after serving an 11-month sentence for breaking bail conditions. In 2012, instead of appearing in court as his bail conditions demanded, Assange sought shelter in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he remained until 2019 over concerns that he might otherwise end up extradited to the US.
In December 2021, the London High Court ruled in favour of the US appeal to extradite Assange, overturning an earlier decision that the Australian journalist cannot be extradited to the US due to health issues and the inhumane conditions he might face in the US prison system.
Assange is wanted by the United States on espionage charges after WikiLeaks published thousands of classified documents that shed light on the atrocities committed by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. If put on trial and convicted in the US, Assange may be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison.
In December 2021, the London High Court ruled in favour of the US appeal to extradite Assange, overturning an earlier decision that the Australian journalist cannot be extradited to the US due to health issues and the inhumane conditions he might face in the US prison system.
Assange is wanted by the United States on espionage charges after WikiLeaks published thousands of classified documents that shed light on the atrocities committed by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. If put on trial and convicted in the US, Assange may be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison.
