Julian Assange faces US extradition after UK approves transfer

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be sent to the US to face criminal espionage charges, the British government ruled.

Assange has 14 days to launch an appeal of the decision, after which he will be extradited across the pond, where he will face spying charges.

He is wanted by US authorities on 18 counts, including espionage.

UKs Home Secretary Priti Patel signed the extradition order Friday. This follows a British court ruling in April that Assange could be sent to the US.

American prosecutors say Assange unlawfully helped US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal 500,000 classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.

Today is not the end of the fight. It is only the beginning of a new legal battle. We will appeal through the legal system, WikiLeaks said in a statement on Twitter.

The UKs Home Office said the UK courts have not found that it would be oppressive, unjust or an abuse of process to extradite Mr. Assange.

Nor have they found that extradition would be incompatible with his human rights, including his right to a fair trial and to freedom of expression, and that whilst in the U.S. he will be treated appropriately, including in relation to his health, the Home Office said in a statement.

Assanges father, Richard Assange, decried the extradition Friday at a protest in front of the British consulate in New York City, calling it an end to the American tradition of a free press.

BREAKING: UK Home Secretary approves extradition of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange to the US where he would face a 175 year sentence A dark day for Press freedom and for British democracyThe decision will be appealedhttps://t.co/m1bX8STSr8 pic.twitter.com/5nWlxnWqO7

[Assanges] Australianfriends find it extraordinary that the country that gave the world freedom of the press enshrined in its constitution the First Amendment today brought that freedom to an end. Its over, he said.

He called on the US to drop the charges against his son.

All it will take is a simple telephone call from Attorney General Merrick Garland to the home secretary in the United Kingdom to drop these charges. Thats all it will take its not complex, he said.

Assange previously spent seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault.

The charges were dropped in 2019 because so much time had elapsed.

That year, Assange was arrested and has since been locked up in Belmarsh high-security prison in England.

The case was thrust into the open more than a decade ago when the US asked British authorities to extradite Assange to the US so he could stand trial to face the charges against him.

Assanges arrest sparked mass fury across the globe, as journalism organizations and human rights groups long called for the UK to refuse the USs extradition request.

His supporters argue he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment protections of freedom of speech. Its also argued his case is politically motivated.

Assanges lawyer, Mark Summers, says he could face up to 175 years in jail if he is convicted in the US.

In December, the High Courtoverturned the lower courts decision, saying that the US promises were enough to guarantee that Assange would be treated humanely.

In March,Assange and his former lawyer Stella Moris marriedin a prison ceremony.

With Post wires

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Julian Assange faces US extradition after UK approves transfer