WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces US extradition judgment day - Times of India

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange being taken from court, where he appeared on charges of jumping British bail seven years ago, in London, Wednesday May 1, 2019. (AP)

NEW DELHI: On Monday, a British court is expected to make a final ruling on whether

Julian Assange

, the founder of

WikiLeaks

, should be extradited to the United States for his role in the massive leak of classified US documents. This decision marks the culmination of a 13-year legal battle and various periods of detention for Assange.

The two judges at the High Court in London will determine whether they are satisfied with the assurances provided by the US that Assange, aged 52, would not face the death penalty and could rely on the First Amendment right to free speech if he were to face a US trial for espionage.

Assange's legal team believes that he could be on a plane to the US within 24 hours of the decision, released from jail, or that his case could be further delayed by months of additional legal proceedings.

"I have the sense that anything could happen at this stage," his wife Stella said last week. "Julian could be extradited, or he could be freed."

WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of classified US military documents related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which were considered the most significant security breaches in US military history.

The organization also released a classified video in April 2010 depicting a 2007 US helicopter attack in Baghdad, Iraq, that resulted in the deaths of 12 people.

The US authorities intend to prosecute Assange on 18 charges, primarily under the Espionage Act, alleging that his actions with WikiLeaks were reckless, compromised national security, and put the lives of agents at risk. Assange's supporters worldwide view the prosecution as an assault on journalism and free speech, as well as retaliation for causing embarrassment to the US government.

Assange was first arrested in Britain in 2010 on a Swedish warrant over sex crime allegations that were later dropped. Since then he has been variously under house arrest, holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London for seven years, and held since 2019 in Belmarsh top security jail, latterly while he waited a ruling on his extradition.

"Every day since the seventh of December 2010 he has been in one form of detention or another," said Stella Assange, who was originally part of his legal team and married him in Belmarsh in 2022.

(With inputs from agencies)