The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, has been approved to be extradited from the UK to the US by the HIgh Court. The US appealed against a UK court ruling from January that stated he could not be extradited because of concerns over his mental health. Judges were reassured after the US promised to reduce the risk of suicide.
Mr Assange is wanted in the United States due to his publication of thousands of classified documents in 2010 and 2011. After the reassurances by the United States, the Lord Cheif Justice Lord Burnett stated that the original court ruling would have been in favor of the extradition if the previous judge had known of the assurances. Lord Chief Justice and Lord Justice Holroyde ruled that the word of the US promising humane treatment of a detainee should not be doubted. The Assange legal team is likely attempting to appeal the decision. The US has given four assurances including that Mr Assange would not be in solitary confinement before or after his trial, he would not be placed in ADX Florence Supermax nail, and that he would be able to transfer to Australia to serve any prison sentence he may be given. If convicted, Mr Assange faces a possible penalty of up to 175 years in jail, however the US government said the sentence would likely be between four and six years.
Read more: Julian Assange can be extradited to the US, court rules
