A court in the United Kingdom has recently issued a decision to delay the potential extradition of Julian Assange, allowing the WikiLeaks founder to continue his appeal against transfer to the United States to face charges related to one of the most significant leaks of classified government information in American history.
Assange is accused of collaborating with Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst, in the disclosure of hundreds of thousands of classified documents, including approximately 250,000 U.S. Department of State cables, which WikiLeaks began publishing in 2010.
In 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an 18-count indictment accusing Assange of violating the Espionage Act by allegedly obtaining, receiving, and disclosing classified information.
These charges were revealed following Assange's arrest after spending seven years at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
He has been in custody for the last five years at Belmarsh High Security Prison, a maximum-security facility in South London.
Alice Jill Edwards, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, expressed concerns in February about Assange's mental and physical well-being in prison, stating that any extradition to the United States could worsen his medical conditions and increase the risk of suicide.
Stella Assange, Assange's long-time partner whom he married in 2022, also voiced concerns about his chances of receiving a fair trial in the U.S. court system.
A spokesperson for the U.K. Home Office stated that the U.K. courts did not find the extradition to be oppressive, unjust, or an abuse of process, and assured that Assange would be treated appropriately, including regarding his health, while in the U.S.
Assange, an Australian citizen, has been continuing his appeal against the decision. A hearing in February at London's High Court was believed to be his final opportunity within the U.K. courts to prevent the extradition, although he could opt to continue his appeal with the European Court of Human Rights.
The 18 charges against Assange carry a maximum penalty of 175 years in prison, according to the Department of Justice.
In 2020, a superseding indictment was issued, alleging that Assange had conspired with the Anonymous hacking group.
WikiLeaks published several
caches of classified U.S. documents and other leaked material in 2010 and 2011, including a U.S. military video that depicted what the group described as the "indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people" in Iraq, including two Reuters news staff.
As of 2022, the United Kingdom had denied at least 25 previous extradition requests from the United States in separate cases, according to the Home Office.
Stella Assange warned ahead of the February hearing that "If Julian Assange is extradited, he will die," as reported by WikiLeaks.