WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange launches appeal against extradition to US
- The High Court in London had reversed a lower-court ruling that it would be ‘oppressive’ to extradite him due to his mental health and the risk of suicide
- If convicted in the US, Assange could be jailed for up to 175 years, although the exact sentence is difficult to estimate
Lawyers for Julian Assange have launched an appeal before Britain’s Supreme Court against a High Court ruling that he may be extradited to the United States, the WikiLeaks founder’s fiancée said on Thursday.
The December 10 decision by the High Court in London reversed an earlier judgment by a British magistrates’ court that it would be “oppressive” to extradite the 50-year-old Australian to the US justice system due to his mental health and the risk of suicide.
The United States wants Assange to face trial for WikiLeaks’ publication in 2010 of classified military documents relating to its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The US government has indicted Assange on 18 charges relating to the release of 500,000 secret files on the conflicts. He could be jailed for up to 175 years in the US, although the exact sentence is difficult to estimate.
Assange’s fiancée Stella Moris, herself a lawyer, said on Twitter that his lawyers filed an appeal to the extradition ruling on Thursday.