Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder and notorious whistleblower, lost another appeal challenging his extradition to face legal charges in the United States Friday. Now his lawyers say Assange, who previously spent seven years seeking refuge in an Ecuadorian embassy, is “dangerously close” to spending the rest of his life in an American cell.
Assange faces 18 criminal charges in the US including an alleged violation of the 1917 Espionage Act and computer hacking. WikiLeaks published thousands of classified documents and cables, some of which showed US soldiers killing civilians in Iraq.
This week’s appeal rejection by a UK High Court judge was the latest in a years-long legal battle to bring the WikiLeaks founder back to the US. The judge, according to a ruling seen by CNN, said none of Assange’s four grounds for appeal “raises any properly arguable point.” Assange’s legal team, according to The Guardian, has tried to convince courts that the US’ reasoning for extraditing him is politically motivated.
news.yahoo.com/julian-assange-one-step-closer-160013113.html