U.K. Judge Denies U.S. Request To Extradite Julian Assange

A British court refused to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States. He is facing 18 federal charges under the Espionage Act for stealing and publishing classified materials, including diplomatic and military cables.

A judge ruled that extraditing Assange to the U.S. would be harmful to his mental health.

"I find that the mental condition of Mr. Assange is such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America," British Magistrate Vanessa Baraitser said in her decision.

Assange was diagnosed with recurrent depressive disorder in December 2019. He has suffered from hallucinations and expressed thoughts of suicide. Baraitser wrote that Assange's psychiatrist warned that he might try to end his life if he was extradited to the U.S.

"I am as confident as a psychiatrist ever can be that, if extradition to the United States were to become imminent, Mr. Assange will find a way of suiciding," the psychiatrist said.

Assange's lawyers are expected to petition for him to be released from prison while he awaits a likely appeal from the United States.

If Assange is extradited and convicted, he faces up to 175 years in prison, which would likely be served at the U.S. Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado.

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