JULIAN Assange will be extradited to the USA to face espionage charges after a lengthy legal battle, it has been confirmed.
The WikiLeaks founder has been formally served with an order by Westminster Magistrates’ Court after he spent years fighting to stay in Britain.
Assange has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.
The extradition order will need to be approved by Home Secretary Priti Patel, although Assange’s lawyers may yet appeal to the High Court.
Assange’s supporters – including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn – have gathered outside to protest.
Assange is wanted in the US over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
Assange, who married his fiancee Stella Moris last month, has been held in Belmarsh prison for three years since being dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel