Judge will rule on January 4 whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be extradited to the US on espionage charges
Julian Assange’s extradition fate will be decided on January 4, a British judge said today.
Judge Vanessa Baraitser told London’s Old Bailey she will then make her ruling on whether the WikiLeaks founder should be handed over to the United States to face espionage charges.
US authorities accuse Australian-born Assange, 49, of conspiring to hack government computers and of violating an espionage law in connection with the release of confidential cables by WikiLeaks in 2010-2011.
Today marked the conclusion of hearings from witnesses in the case that began after he was thrown out of the Ecuadorian embassy following almost seven years asylum there.
Assange’s lawyers argue that the charges are politically motivated, that his mental health is at risk, that conditions in US prisons breach Britain’s human rights laws, and that he and his lawyers were spied on while he was in the Ecuadorian embassy.
The legal team representing the United States have countered that many of those arguments are issues which should be addressed in a trial, and have no bearing on extradition.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow…