The top court of the United Kingdom ruled whether the WikiLeaks founder should be extradited to the United States for publishing hundreds of thousands of secret documents online. In the US, he could face up to 175 years in prison.
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser said Monday Assange was likely to commit suicide if sent to the US. The US government said it would appeal the decision. US prosecutors have indicted Assange on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks publication of leaked military and diplomatic documents a decade ago.
Assange faces 18 charges in the US relating to the 2010 release by WikiLeaks of 500,000 secret files detailing aspects of military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Lawyers for the 49-year-old Australian argue that he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment protections of freedom of speech for publishing leaked documents that exposed US military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The judge rejected claims by the defence that Assange was protected by free-speech guarantees, saying his “conduct, if proved, would therefore amount to offenses in this jurisdiction that would not be protected by his right to freedom of speech.” But she said Assange suffered from clinical depression that would be exacerbated by the isolation he would likely face in US prison.
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