Two UK judges on Tuesday delayed a decision on whether to grant WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a last-ditch appeal against extradition to the United States, giving Washington three weeks to provide "assurances" in the case.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange rose to prominence in 2010 when his website leaked heaps of classified government information. Since then, Assange and his legal team have been in a long-standing battle against the US violating a US-UK treaty that prohibits extradition for political offenses.
Julian Assange is being prosecuted for publishing sources' names and not his political opinions, lawyers representing the United States said on Wednesday as the WikiLeaks founder fights to stop his extradition from Britain.
Julian Assange has been fighting extradition for more than a decade, including seven years in self-exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and the last five years in a high-security prison.
The wife of Julian Assange said Thursday the WikiLeaks founder would die if extradited to the United States, ahead of his latest appeal against the UK ruling.