Timeline of the Julian Assange legal saga as he makes a final bid … – PBS

LONDON (AP) WikiLeaks founderJulian Assangehas been fighting for more than a decade to avoid extradition to the United States to face charges related to his organizations publication of a huge trove of classified documents. He has been in custody in a high-security London prison since 2019, and previously spent seven years in self-exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

WATCH: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange makes last-ditch attempt to avoid U.S. extradition

As his lawyers begina final round of legal challengeTuesday to stop him from being sent from Britain to the U.S., here is a look at key events in the long-running legal saga:

Assange founds WikiLeaks in Australia. The group begins publishing sensitive or classified documents.

In a series of posts, WikiLeaks released almost half a million documents relating to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Swedish prosecutors issue an arrest warrant for Assange based on one womans allegation of rape and anothers allegation of molestation. The warrant is withdrawn shortly afterward, with prosecutors citing insufficient evidence for the rape allegation. Assange denies the allegations.

Swedens director of prosecutions reopens the rape investigation. Assange leaves Sweden for Britain.

Swedish police issue an international arrest warrant for Assange.

Assange surrenders to police in London and is detained pending an extradition hearing. High Court grants Assange bail.

District court in Britain rules Assange should be extradited to Sweden.

Assange enters Ecuadorian Embassy in central London, seeking asylum on June 19, after his bids to appeal the extradition ruling failed. Police set up round-the-clock guard to arrest him if he steps outside.

Assange is granted political asylum by Ecuador.

Assange loses his bid to have an arrest warrant issued in Sweden against him canceled. A judge in Stockholm upholds the warrant alleging sexual offences against two women.

Swedish prosecutors ask to question Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy.

Swedish prosecutors drop investigations into some allegations against Assange because of the statute of limitations; an investigation into a rape allegation remains active.

Metropolitan Police end their 24-hour guard outside the Ecuadorian embassy but say theyll arrest Assange if he leaves, ending a three-year police operation estimated to have cost millions.

Assange claims total vindication as the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention finds that he has been unlawfully detained and recommends he be immediately freed and given compensation. Britain calls the finding frankly ridiculous.

Ecuadors president says his country and Britain are working on a legal solution to allow Assange to leave the embassy.

Assange seeks a court injunction pressing Ecuador to provide him basic rights he said the country agreed to when it first granted him asylum.

A U.S. court filing that appears to inadvertently reveal the existence of a sealed criminal case against Assange is discovered by a researcher. No details are confirmed.

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno blames WikiLeaks for recent corruption allegations; Ecuadors government withdraws Assanges asylum status. London police arrest Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy for breaching bail conditions in 2012, as well as on behalf of U.S. authorities.

Assange is sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for jumping bail in 2012.

The U.S. governmentindicts Assangeon 18 charges over WikiLeaks publication of classified documents. Prosecutors say he conspired with U.S. army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Swedish prosecutordrops rape investigation.

An extradition hearing for Assange is delayed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. files new indictment against Assange that prosecutors say underscores Assanges efforts to procure and release classified information.

A British judge rules Assangecannot be extradited to the U.S.because he is likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions.

The High Courtgrants the U.S. government permission to appealthe lower courts ruling blocking Assanges extradition.

The High Court rules that U.S. assurances about Assanges detention areenough to guarantee he would be treated humanely.

Britains top courtrefuses to grant Assange permissionto appeal against his extradition.

Britains governmentorders the extraditionof Assange to the United States. Assange appeals.

Assanges lawyers launch a final legal bid to stop his extradition at the High Court.

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Timeline of the Julian Assange legal saga as he makes a final bid ... - PBS