Julian Assange may soon be extradited to US authorities, according to the WikiLeaks founder’s family, as well as legal experts who have been following the case for a long time.
the tHe is the guardian Assange’s lawyers say they will appeal again to the same court, but say he increasingly fears he will spend the rest of his life in prison for leaking thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents.
Julian’s life is in the hands of the Australian government.
– claims Assange’s wife, Stella
In a three-page ruling released on Tuesday, UK Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Swift dismissed all of Assange’s eight grounds of appeal against the US extradition order signed by then UK Home Secretary Priti Patel last June.
John Shipton, Assange’s father, said his son’s reasons for requesting another British hearing were “clear and legitimate”.
Assange argued in his appeal that Patel erred as Home Secretary in approving the extradition order because the request breached the US-UK extradition treaty, which states that “extradition may not be authorized if the offense under which the extradition was made was based on a political offence”.
His legal team has consistently argued that the US push to bring Assange to justice is politically motivated.
Assange’s legal team also said the US government had consistently distorted the basic facts of the case before the British courts.
If convicted, Assange could face up to 175 years in prison.
Julian Assange has been held in Belmarsh Prison for more than four years, despite his deteriorating health, having previously challenged the US extradition order.
