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A British court has ruled that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited to the United States. After a hearing on Wednesday (April 20), the judge forwarded the extradition request to Interior Minister Priti Patel for final approval.
Assange's legal team now has four weeks to submit documents to Patel arguing against his extradition. They can also appeal the decision to a higher court.
Assange is facing 17 charges of espionage and one count of computer misuse over a 2010 leak of classified files and diplomatic cables. If convicted, he faces up to 175 years in prison.
Assange has been detained at the high-security Belmarsh Prison in London for the past three years. Before that, he lived in the Ecuadorian embassy after being granted political asylum. However, after spending years cooped up inside the embassy, his asylum was withdrawn, and he was taken into custody.
In January 2021, a court denied a request to extradite Assange to the United States, but in December, the High Court overturned that ruling and said that Assange should be extradited.