UK court issues formal order of extradition of Julian Assange

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – A British court on Wednesday issued a formal order to extradite WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange to the US to face espionage charges.

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring approved the extradition after a short hearing.

The final decision on the extradition will be made by Home Secretary Priti Patel next month, which Assange will be able to appeal at the High Court if she goes ahead with a decision of extradition.

Assange’s lawyers will make representations to Patel to convince her against such extradition.

Assange will face 18 counts of hacking the US government computers and violating the espionage law if he is extradited to the US and a potential prison sentence for years. He may face a prison term of up to 175 years.

The 50-year-old was dragged out of Ecuador’s embassy building in London in 2019, where he took refuge for more than seven years.

The British police arrested him for skipping his bail in 2012 and on behalf of the US due to an extradition warrant.

The Westminster Magistrates’ Court saw dozens of supporters asking for Assange's immediate release.