UK court delays decision on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s last-ditch extradition appeal bid

Washington has three weeks to provide fresh assurances over concerns Assange will be prejudiced at trial because he is not an American citizen and that he could face the death penalty if convicted

If he eventually loses the appeal bid, the WikiLeaks’ founder will have exhausted all UK appeals and will be set to enter the extradition process

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A supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange holds a sign. Two UK judges on Tuesday delayed a decision on whether to grant Assange a last-ditch appeal against extradition to the United States, giving Washington three weeks to provide “assurances” in the case. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:29pm, 26 Mar 2024Updated: 7:34pm, 26 Mar 2024

Two UK judges on Tuesday delayed a decision on whether to grant WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a last-ditch appeal against extradition to the United States, giving Washington three weeks to provide “assurances” in the case.

The US wants the 52-year-old Australian citizen to stand trial there for WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of secret military and diplomatic files in 2010 relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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

But following two days of evidence last month, the judges in London said Assange had “a real prospect of success” on three of his nine grounds of appeal.

A supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks outside The Royal Courts of Justice, Britain’s High Court. Assange was not in court for the latest ruling. Photo: AFP

Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson gave Washington three weeks to provide fresh assurances over concerns he will be prejudiced at trial because he is not an American citizen and that he could face the death penalty if convicted.