British judge to hand down Julian Assange extradition decision – The Age

"If Assange is extradited, it will set a dangerous precedent for press freedom."

But the US government says they are prosecuting Assange, not for publishing the cables but for how they were obtained, alleging he conspired with Chelsea Manning, then an army intelligence officer, to hack into government systems to steal three-quarters of a million secret and classified cables.

He faces 17 charges and a total sentence of 175 years if convicted of all counts in the United States.

Judge Vanessa Baraitser will hand down her decision on whether Assange is to be extradited to the United States to face a grand jury. Assange, who attended every day of his hearing in September and October last year, is expected to attend the hearing in court two.

Regardless of her ruling, it will almost certainly be appealed as both sides have said they will appeal if the decision does not go their way.

Stella Moris-Smith Robertson, Assange's fiancee and mother of their two children, Max and Gabriel, has begun directly pleading with US President Donald Trump, via his favoured medium Twitter, for a pardon for Assange, before Trump leaves the White House.

The Obama administration did not bring charges against Assange they were only brought by the Department of Justice under the Trump Administration. Trump, who benefited politically from WikiLeaks' publication of the emails obtained by Russians who hacked into the Democratic National Committee's servers, has held views in favour and also critical of WikiLeaks.

Britain's National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said if Assange was extradited to the United States, it would "chill the media worldwide".

"Whatever you think of Assange, he clearly brought important information to wide attention," the NUJ's general secretary Michelle Stainstreet said.

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"Now he faces prosecution for actions that are commonplace for investigative journalists.

"If this prosecution is successful, it will chill the media worldwide."

Monday's ruling is a major development in the 10-year saga involving the Australian who spent nearly seven years holed up at the Ecuadorian embassy in London to escape being extradited to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault.

He was kicked out by his hosts in dramatic scenes in April 2019 when they invited Scotland Yard to enter the embassy and arrest their long-term resident.

Assange has been held in custody ever since.

Latika Bourke is a journalist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in London.

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British judge to hand down Julian Assange extradition decision - The Age