The Westminster Magistrate’s Court of the United Kingdom on Wednesday ordered the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, WikiLeaks tweeted.
“BREAKING: A UK judge has ordered the extradition of Julian Assange to the US where he will face a 175-year sentence for publishing,” WikiLeaks said.
“The decision will now move to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel – the defense has until May 18 to make submissions,” it added.
Assange has been on remand at the Belmarsh maximum-security prison in southeast London since October 2020, after serving an 11-month sentence for breaking bail conditions. In 2012, instead of appearing in court as his bail conditions demanded, Assange sought shelter in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he remained until 2019 over concerns that he might otherwise end up extradited to the US.
Assange is wanted by the United States on espionage charges after WikiLeaks published thousands of classified documents that shed light on the atrocities committed by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. If put on trial and convicted in the US, Assange may be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.