The UK High Court has given permission for the Australian journalist to appeal his extradition to the US
On Monday, the British high court granted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange permission to appeal against his extradition to the US. His legal team had petitioned the court to allow him to appeal the extradition decision on points of law of general public importance.
In December, the UK high court ruled in favor of allowing his extradition to the US where he faces espionage charges for publishing documents about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2010.
A conviction could carry a 175-year prison sentence.
Assange spent seven years living inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, before a new government in Quito revoked his asylum. Police protection and surveillance of the embassy cost the British taxpayer millions. He was detained outside the embassy by British police in April 2019, and has since been held at the Belmarsh maximum-security prison. Assange’s fiance Stella Moris claims his health has deteriorated considerably, and recently revealed that he had suffered a stroke in October.
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