Julian Assange received another blow in his fight to avoid extradition to the United States on Wednesday. A court in the United Kingdom has approved the extradition order, which will send the founder of WikiLeaks to the United States for trial.
Assange is wanted in the United States on espionage charges and faces 18 counts of conspiracy to hack military databases to publish classified information about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If convicted, Assange could face 175 years in prison, although the US government has said he is likely to face between four and six years.
In December, a judge of the Supreme Court overturned a previous decision ban on extradition due to Assange’s mental health concerns and conditions in US prisons.
Assange appeared in court via video link and, following the court ruling, said through his lawyers that he planned to appeal. His lawyers will hand over his case to Interior Minister Priti Patel, hoping she will intervene and prevent extradition.
The court’s ruling on Wednesday was criticized by Agnes Kalamar, secretary general of Amnesty International, on the grounds that it puts Assange at risk and also poses a greater threat to press freedom. “The charges against Assange should never have been raised in the first place,” Kalamar said. “It’s not too late for the US authorities to make things right and drop the charges.
Assange’s appeal will continue. He is currently in custody in Britain.