London: The London High Court has ordered the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is on trial for leaking thousands of military and diplomatic documents. The High Court overturned a lower court ruling that Assange should not be extradited to the United States because of his mental illness. The appeal was filed by US authorities. Assange’s girlfriend, Stella Morris, has denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating “Similar, baseless allegations concerning Assange’s girlfriend have been made more than once. Assange has been charged with 17 counts of espionage, punishable by up to 175 years in prison.
WikiLeaks released US secret documents in 2010–11. It all started with the 2007 US attack on Baghdad that killed 12 people, including two Reuters reporters. Assange, who faces sexual harassment charges in Sweden, sought asylum in 2012 at the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition. As the embassy did not leave, Britain could do nothing. However, after their confrontation with Ecuador, they were arrested and imprisoned by British police in 2019 with their permission.
Assange was sentenced by a lower court to life in prison on suspicion of committing suicide. However, the United States has said in a statement that it will not release Assange from custody in the Colorado prison. Assange has fans around the world who are fighting against the US government’s abuse of power.
English Summary: Julian Assange can be extradited from UK to US orders London High Court
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