{"id":644784,"date":"2019-06-13T11:12:37","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T11:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"
\"WikiLeaks<\/p>\n
\n
\"WikiLeaks<\/div>\n

Britain\u2019s interior minister said Thursday he had certified the US request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on espionage grounds in a procedural move that opens the way for a court battle.<\/p>\n

The US Justice Department confirmed on Tuesday that it had submitted a formal extradition request. British Home Secretary Sajid Javid said he signed it on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The final decision on whether Assange can be extradited will rest with the courts. The next hearing in the Australian former computer hacker\u2019s case is on Friday.<\/p>\n

The 47-year-old had been sheltering in Ecuador\u2019s embassy in London for seven years until his arrest on April 11 when Quito finally withdrew his asylum.<\/p>\n

He is now serving a 50-week sentence in jail for skipping bail when he entered the embassy in 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very pleased that the police were finally able to apprehend him and now he\u2019s rightly behind bars because he broke UK law,\u201d Javid told BBC radio.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an extradition request from the US that is before the courts tomorrow but yesterday I\u2026 certified it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see justice done at all times and we\u2019ve got a legitimate extradition request, so I\u2019ve signed it, but the\u2026 decision is now with the courts.\u201d<\/p>\n

If basic criteria are met, the home secretary must certify a valid extradition request from the United States before the courts make a decision on whether the person can be extradited.<\/p>\n

The secretary then decides whether to order extradition.<\/p>\n

Assange, who is being held in the top-security Belmarsh prison in southeast London, is not expected to attend Friday\u2019s hearing in person but could take part via video-link, although it will be largely procedural.<\/p>\n

The \u201cfirst real confrontation of arguments\u201d in court will not be for several weeks or months, according to WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson.<\/p>\n

Washington has accused Assange of violating the US Espionage Act by publishing military and diplomatic files in 2010.<\/p>\n

The 18 charges reject his claim he was simply a publisher receiving leaked material \u2014 which would be protected under press freedom legislation.<\/p>\n

The case has upset some US and other world media, which argue that Assange\u2019s activities differ very little from their own. They fear his case could set a precedent for limiting free speech and media rights.<\/p>\n

\n
Get more stories like this on Twitter<\/a><\/i><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n