Julian Assange can be extradited to US, says UK home secretary

Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The Home Secretary of the United Kingdom approved a request to extradite the founder of the website. One step closer to facing espionage charges in the US was brought about by the signing of the order by Patel.

The decision will be appealed to the UK's high court. "This is a dark day for press freedom and for British democracy." Julian didn't do anything wrong

A number of legal losses have been suffered by the man. In December, the UK's High Court gave the go-ahead for the UK to extradite Assange, concluding that the US had promised humane treatment in the American prison system. He was refused an appeal by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. In the US, he would be charged with 17 counts of violating espionage law and one count of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for his work with Manning. The claims have a maximum of 175 years in prison, but the US government wants a shorter sentence.

Concerns have been raised about the legal status of journalists and whistle blowers. The US government should drop the charges because they could have a chilling effect on the willingness of reporters to report on leaks. A trove of details about the operations of numerous governments including the US were revealed in the leaks.

Since the beginning of the year, he has been in a UK prison. His defense team has argued that prison conditions in the US would make his physical and mental health decline even worse. If he is convicted, he can choose to serve his sentence in his home country of Australia or be put in a high-security "supermax" prison.