Julian Assange denied US extradition appeal by UK's top court

The case is now expected to be formally sent to British Home Secretary Priti Patel, who will decide whether to grant the extradition

Britain’s top court on Monday refused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange permission to appeal against a decision to extradite him to the U.S. to face spying charges.

The court said it refused because the case “didn’t raise an arguable point of law.”

Assange, 50, has sought for years to avoid a trial in the U.S. on a series of charges related to WikiLeaks’ publication of a huge trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.

The case is now expected to be formally sent to British Home Secretary Priti Patel, who will decide whether to grant the extradition.

A British district court judge had initially rejected a U.S. extradition request on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. U.S. authorities later provided assurances that the WikiLeaks founder wouldn’t face the severe treatment that his lawyers said would put his physical and mental health at risk.

In December, the High Court overturned the lower court’s decision, saying that the U.S. promises were enough to guarantee that Assange would be treated humanely.

Monday's news narrows Assange's options, but his defense team may still seek to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights. Nick Vamos, the former head of extradition at the Crown Prosecution Service, said Assange’s lawyers can also seek to challenge other points that he had lost in the original district court decision.