Assange faces weeks-long wait over last-ditch extradition appeal

London:WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a weeks long wait to learn if he can make a last ditch appeal against extradition to the United States,...

London: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a weeks-long wait to learn if he can make a last-ditch appeal against extradition to the United States, after a UK court on Tuesday delayed a decision.

The High Court in London gave the US government three weeks to provide further "assurances" on his treatment if he is sent there to face charges over Wikileaks' 2010 release of secret military and diplomatic files.

Washington has spent several years trying to extradite the 52-year-old Australian citizen to stand trial for the publication, which related to the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Attempting to halt the process, Assange had suffered a string of court losses in the long-running legal saga, which his supporters see as a battle for media freedom.

A two-day hearing was held last month and two judges in London ruled Tuesday he had "a real prospect of success" on three of his nine grounds of appeal.