LONDON—Julian Assange’s extradition hearing is due to begin at a London court on Monday.
The Australian WikiLeaks founder faces 18 charges in the U.S. relating to computer hacking and espionage. If found guilty in the United States, he could face 175 years behind bars.
Assange came under scrutiny in 2010 after hundreds of thousands of classified American documents were published on the WikiLeaks website.
He is charged with offenses relating to “one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States,” in the words of the U.S. Department of Justice.
UK police arrested Assange in April 2019 at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had claimed political asylum for seven years.
Julian Assange Timeline
How did Assange end up where he is now? Here’s a look back at some key dates.
In 2010, the year that WikiLeaks published the classified documents, Swedish prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Assange over allegations of serious sexual assault, which he denied.
The UK’s Supreme Court granted his extradition to Sweden in 2012.
But Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London and avoided Swedish extradition.
In 2015, Swedish prosecutors dropped the molestation investigation, and in 2017, they dropped the rape allegation.
In April 2019, UK police dragged Assange out of the embassy, after Ecuador withdrew his asylum status. He was jailed in London for skipping bail.
In May 2019, the U.S. filed 17 new charges against Assange and submitted a formal extradition request a month later. Later that year, Sweden reopened its investigation, but it was later dropped.
Health Concerns
Assange’s supporters have expressed concern for his health. WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said that Assange is in better condition out of isolation, after pressure from his legal team, the public, and inmates.
“I saw him about 10 days ago. He has improved,” he said in a press conference in London.
Two Australian politicians flew to the UK this week to visit Assange in prison.
“You can love him or hate him, but if he’s a ratbag, he’s our ratbag, and he should be brought home,” said George Christensen, a Liberal-National politician for the ruling party in Australia.
Assange’s lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, said that arguments expected to be heard in court include the political nature of the charges, issues around free speech, and the terms of the U.S.–UK treaty.
The first week of legal arguments is due to begin on Monday. The case is set to pick up again in May for another three weeks.
The losing side is likely to appeal.
