Key Takeaways
- The High Court of Justice in London starts a two-day hearing of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s appeal against the decision on his extradition to the United States on Tuesday.
- Assange was charged under the Espionage Act for obtaining and disclosing classified information that shed light on war crimes and human rights violations committed by US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- The WikiLeaks founder was transferred to the high-security Belmarsh prison in April 2019 on bail breach charges.
London: The High Court of Justice in London starts a two-day hearing of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s appeal against the decision on his extradition to the United States on Tuesday.
Assange, an Australian citizen, was transferred to the high-security Belmarsh prison in April 2019 on bail breach charges. In the US, he faced prosecution under the Espionage Act for obtaining and disclosing classified information that shed light on war crimes and human rights violations committed by US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On June 26, a US court in the Northern Mariana Islands sentenced Julian Assange to time served as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors that ended his 14-year legal battle. He then left for Canberra.
