Assange is serving his sentence in Australia

© Frank Augustin/AP/TT
Julian Assange. Photo gallery.

The US government has appealed a British court’s decision to block the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The Americans assured the British that Assange would serve any sentence in his native Australia.

For two days, the case will be debated by the UK Supreme Court.

In January, British judge Vanessa Paritzer said Assange’s mental health was very poor and that there was a high risk he would kill himself in an extradition process.

But according to US Representative James Lewis, this assessment is incorrect.

In a document filed with the court, the United States also asserts that Assange may serve any judgment handed down by a U.S. court in his home country of Australia.

At a preliminary hearing in August, the British Supreme Court granted a US request to appeal the ruling. No matter what the court decides now, months or even years of legal detours await.

accused of data breach

The United States accuses Julian Assange, among other things, of hacking and spying on large amounts of classified material published by WikiLeaks. The organization revealed, among other things, how the US military killed hundreds of civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Assange’s defenders dismiss the allegations as politically motivated.

Seven years in the embassy

In June 2012, Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was suspected of sexual crimes. He stayed at the embassy until April 2019 when he was dragged out.

The Swedish case had already been dropped by then. But he was imprisoned for violating British bail rules. He has been held since then, awaiting a decision to extradite him to the United States.