Court to rule on Julian Assange’s final appeal over extradition to the US

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will find out Monday whether he can make a final challenge against his extradition to the United States.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will find out Monday whether he can make a final challenge against his extradition to the United States. Assange is wanted by US authorities on espionage charges connected to his organization’s publication of thousands of classified documents and diplomatic cables in 2010 and 2011. He faces spending the rest of his life behind bars if convicted. On Monday, two High Court judges — Justices Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson — could decide to uphold the UK government’s 2022 extradition decision, allow Assange to appeal or even release him, according to his wife, Stella Assange, who added that “anything could happen at this stage.” “Julian is just one decision away from being extradited. If the judges find against him on Monday, then there will be no further avenues for appeal in the UK,” she told reporters at a meeting organized by the Foreign Press Association in London on Wednesday. If the High Court in London rules against Assange on Monday, he could seek to prevent his extradition by applying for an emergency injunction — known as rule 39 — from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Assange’s team has said it intends to put in this request if necessary, following the conclusion of UK legal proceedings, in a last-ditch bid to stop the publisher being put on a plane to the US.