London Court Issues Order to Extradite Julian Assange to US
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A London court made a formal decision to extradite Julian Assange to the United States on Wednesday.
However, the final decision is to be made by the UK government.
WikiLeaks tweeted that the defense team has until May 18 to challenge the decision before Home Secretary Priti Patel makes her decision on the ruling, Sputnik reported.
Should he be extradited to the United States, where he is accused of espionage, Assange faces up to 175 years behind bars.
WikiLeaks' chief editor Kristinn Hrafnsson said that by issuing the extradition order, the Westminster Magistrate's Court had signed Assange's death sentence. Earlier, Assange's defense team argued that the WikiLeaks founder might commit suicide if he was extradited to the US.
In December 2021, the London High Court greenlit the US appeal to extradite Assange, overturning an earlier ruling that the journalist could not be extradited to the US due to his health issues and inhumane conditions that await him in an American prison.