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US Justice Department Delivers Assange's Extradition Request to UK Authorities - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The US Justice Department delivered a formal request to UK authorities for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's extradition, the Washington Post news outlet reported, citing a US government official.
Sputnik

According to the news outlet's source that chose to remain anonymous, the request was sent on Thursday.

According to a US-UK treaty, any extradition request must be filed within 60 days of an arrest and Assange was arrested on April 11 at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

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By that same treaty, the United States can only prosecute Assange based on the charges outlined in the extradition request, which is an 18-count indictment that was filed last month on charges of Assange violating the US Espionage Act and conspiring to hack a government computer.

READ MORE: Ex-Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Believes Assange to Be Extradited to US From UK

On June 14, a London court is expected to hold the first hearing on Assange's potential extradition to the United States.

Assange is currently serving 50 weeks in a London jail for violating his bail conditions in 2012, when he took refuge inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges.

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