Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, initiated his final legal battle in the UK on Tuesday to challenge his extradition to the US on charges of espionage.
Assange's extradition to the US was approved by the UK in 2022, following a decision by then Home Secretary Priti Patel, after an initial block on mental health grounds. Since then, Assange and his legal team have been engaged in ongoing appeals, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
Over a two-day period concluding on Wednesday, two judges at the UK High Court, Victoria Sharp and Justice Johnson, will preside over Assange's last appeal against extradition to the US.
The 52-year-old Assange faces allegations in the US related to the disclosure of national defense information stemming from WikiLeaks' release of a trove of leaked military documents pertaining to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars a decade ago. Among these documents was footage from an Apache helicopter showing the US military attacking Reuters journalists and civilians in Baghdad in 2007.
Assange has been detained at Belmarsh Prison in southeast London since 2019. US lawyers have indicated that he would have the option to serve any potential prison sentence in his native Australia.
Should the UK High Court judges rule in favor of Assange, it would prompt a full appeal hearing to reconsider his extradition. Conversely, if Assange's appeal is unsuccessful, his legal team plans to seek an emergency injunction from the European Court of Human Rights.
Due to his health condition, Assange is not present at the hearing, as confirmed by his legal representatives. His wife, Stella Assange, expressed concerns last week about his declining physical and mental health.
Outside the High Court, where hundreds of demonstrators gathered, local residents voiced their support for Assange. They argued that his case is politically motivated and highlighted the importance of his efforts to expose alleged war crimes.
Edward George Green, who traveled from Birmingham to attend the proceedings, emphasized the broader implications of Assange's potential extradition, warning that it could discourage individuals from uncovering the truth about government misconduct and war atrocities.
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