UK court rules Julian Assange can appeal extradition to the US
- A British court ruled that Assange can appeal the December decision that he can be extradited to the US.
- The WikiLeaks founder faces hacking and espionage charges in the US.
The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been allowed to appeal the decision that he can be extradited to the US, a British court ruled Monday.
The High Court in London said that Assange can appeal a December ruling that he can be extradited to the US, where he faces multiple charges. It means his case can now go to the UK Supreme Court.
The court had in December reversed an earlier court ruling that said Assange could not be extradited to the US because he was at risk of suicide and self-harm in the US.
The summary of that decision said the US had assured the UK that Assange would "receive appropriate clinical and psychological treatment" in the US. The US also said it would let Assange serve his sentence in Australia, his home country, if he asks to do so.
Assange faces 18 charges in the US. The country accused him of conspiring to hack government computers and breaching the Espionage Act when WikiLeaks published a trove of confidential military and diplomatic documents in 2010.
Assange had for years lived in Ecuador's embassy in London as an asylum seeker. He was brought to a UK prison when Ecuador withdrew its protection over him in in April 2019, and the police dragged him out.
The US then requested to extradite him.
Human-rights groups say Assange should not be criminalized for sharing information in the public interest, and that he would not be safe in the US.