Wikileaks founder Julian Assange may be extradited to the United States. A judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in England has approved the extradition request. The extradition was final when Home Affairs Minister Priti Patel signed it. Assange’s lawyers can still appeal the decision to Patel.
175 years in prison
In December 2021, another British judge had ruled that Assange could be extradited due to health complaints and the inhumane situation so he could end up in a US prison. In December last year, this sentence was overturned after the US promised not to put Assange in a maximum security prison and that he could serve any possible sentence in Australia. Extradition is now officially approved.
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In the US, Assange is suspected of leaking classified documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a result, he will be responsible for, among other things, the death of an informant from the American armed forces. He could face 175 years in prison in the US.
For a long time, Assange managed to escape prosecution by living at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He was finally arrested here in 2019 by British police. Since then, he has been in prison awaiting extradition.
Protest
Dozens of Assange supporters protested in a London court. Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the British Labor Party, was also present.
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