A decision in the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is trying to challenge the extradition decision to the United States in British courts, will be made in March, WikiLeaks said on Tuesday.
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“Upcoming dates: March: decision on the final appeal of Julian Assange in the UK,” WikiLeaks said in a message on the social network X. The exact dates for the announcement of the court decision have not been announced.
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Last Wednesday, a hearing ended in London, during which Assange’s appeal against the decision of the British authorities to extradite him to the United States was considered. The court’s decision will determine whether the journalist can continue to fight his extradition in the British courts or whether he has exhausted all appeal options in the UK. If the court rules against Assange, one of the last options to prevent his transfer to the United States may be an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
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Australian journalist Assange gained fame in 2006 in connection with his work on the WikiLeaks website, founded for the publication of secret documents. In 2010, the site made public secret video footage of the US military, which showed how at least 18 civilians were killed after an attack on a US helicopter in Baghdad in 2007. In 2010, the site also began publishing 250 thousand American diplomatic documents.
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Assange has been hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since June 2012, fearing extradition. On the morning of April 11, 2019, he was detained at the request of the United States after being expelled from the embassy, after which he was placed in Belmarsh Prison in London.
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In June 2022, then British Home Secretary Priti Patel approved the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder to the United States after consideration of the case by Westminster Magistrates’ Court and the High Court in London. British courts did not consider that Assange’s extradition would be oppressive or unfair.
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In June 2023, Assange filed a final appeal to London’s high court in an attempt to challenge the decision of Judge Jonathan Swift, who rejected on all eight counts the journalist’s lawyers’ appeal against his extradition order.
