The US has appealed against a British court’s order to block the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face trial for publishing military secrets.
The US expressed “extreme disappointment” at the British court’s decision. It further argued the judge “didn’t appreciate the weight” of expert evidence.
British police arrested Assange, 50, in 2019 for jumping bail. He first spent seven years inside the Ecuadorian embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden. However, he faced allegations of sexual assault.
Despite his extradition being blocked, he has been denied bail pending the outcome of the US appeal. However, many fear he would abscond.
He currently remains at London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison. However, his fiancee Stella Moris, a former member of his legal team, this week branded “a terrible environment”.
Assange faces 18 charges relating to the 2010 release by WikiLeaks of 500,000 secret files detailing aspects of military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The US charge him for violating the US espionage act and for hacking. The charges are based on the alleged assistance he provided former military intelligence officer Chelsea Manning in obtaining the documents from secure military computer systems.
If convicted in the US, he faces a maximum sentence of 175 years in jail.
