Julian Assange of WikiLeaks is now able to contest his extradition to the United States.

For over ten years, Assange has been resisting extradition; prior to his imprisonment, he lived in self-exile for seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

TFD – Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, secures a crucial victory as a UK court grants him permission for a full appeal against his extradition to the US. This significant development follows over a decade of legal battles.

LONDON: After more than ten years of court battles, a British court granted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange permission to file a complete appeal against his extradition to the United States on allegations of espionage on Monday.

Two judges at the High Court in London said Assange, who was born in Australia, could have a full appeal to hear his argument that he might be discriminated against because he is a foreign national.

In the event that the High Court approved the extradition, Assange would have run out of legal options in the United Kingdom. If the verdict had gone against him, his legal team said last week, he could have been flown to the United States in less than a day.

Edward Fitzgerald, Assange’s attorney, had informed the judges that they should not believe the assurances of American prosecutors that Assange may pursue First Amendment protections because a U.S. court would not be bound by them. He told the court, “We say this is a blatantly inadequate assurance,” according to Reuters.

But according to Reuters, he had also received a different guarantee that Assange wouldn’t be executed, stating that the United States had given a “clear and unequivocal pledge not to prosecute any capital offense.

Months may pass before the appeal is considered.

Assange, 52, was not present in court to hear arguments on his future. Fitzgerald claimed that his absence was due to illness.

As word of the verdict reached the court, hundreds of demonstrators applauded outside.

After the hearing, Assange’s wife, Stella, whom he married behind bars in 2022, said at a news conference that her husband was “obviously relieved” by the judgment.

“I believe this is an opportunity for the U.S. administration to end the case and dissociate itself from this horrible prosecution, which this administration did not start and ought to have ended long ago,” the speaker stated.

For over ten years, Assange has been resisting extradition. He spent seven of those years living in self-exile at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. After that, he was imprisoned for five years in the highly secure Belmarsh Prison on the outskirts of London.

Because WikiLeaks released sensitive papers, Assange was charged with 17 counts of espionage and one count of computer abuse in the United States.

His assistance to U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in her theft of diplomatic cables and military papers that WikiLeaks released over 15 years ago is said to have put lives at risk by American authorities.

In written submissions, U.S. attorney James Lewis claimed that Assange’s actions “threatened damage to the strategic and national security interests of the United States” and exposed the individuals listed in the documents—including Afghans and Iraqis who had assisted American forces—to “serious physical harm.

Assange’s lawyers contend that the prosecution is politically motivated reprisal and that he obtained and published classified material as part of his routine journalistic activity.

They have stated that if found guilty, he could get a term of up to 175 years in jail; however, American authorities have stated that the actual punishment would probably be far lower.

Numerous supporters of Assange across the globe have denounced the prosecution and called for the case to be withdrawn from political figures, media outlets, rights organizations, and even Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

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Assange started WikiLeaks in 2006 as a platform for anyone to post confidential documents. Four years later, WikiLeaks gained notoriety when it released a video that Manning had provided.

The footage, which was taken in 2007, showed a US military helicopter murdering civilians in Baghdad, including two Reuters journalists. The van that was sent to pick up the injured was also fired upon. More than 10 people were killed.

Manning was found guilty in 2013 of espionage and other offenses at a court-martial after he gave WikiLeaks access to classified military documents. She was sentenced to 35 years in prison but was released in 2017 after President Barack Obama commuted her sentence.

Assange’s legal troubles began in 2010, when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women.

He jumped bail two years later and took sanctuary in the Ecuadorian Embassy, thereby trapping himself inside the facility and keeping him out of the hands of the law.

He was kicked out of the embassy in April 2019 after the romance fell apart, and British police detained him right away for violating his bail in 2012. Despite Sweden ending the sex crimes investigation in 2019 due to the passage of significant time, he has been incarcerated ever then.

In 2021, a British district court judge denied the extradition request, citing a genuine and “oppressive” risk of suicide. However, the following year, U.S. officials prevailed in an appeal after providing a number of guarantees on the treatment of Assange in the event of his extradition. They also promised that he could be deported to Australia to complete his sentence there.

This year, the Australian parliament demanded that Assange be permitted to go back to his native country. Australian authorities have said the case has dragged on for too long, and officials have tried to lobby the U.S. to drop the extradition efforts or find a diplomatic solution that would allow his return.

Asked about it last month, President Joe Biden said his administration was “considering” Australia’s request.