U.S. wins appeal in Julian Assange extradition battle

In its bid for Julian Assange extradition, the U.S. government won on Friday an appeal in its year-long battle to involve the WikiLeaks founder in litigation, to face charges of espionage for publicizing confidential documents from the State Department.

In January, the UK high court ruled that the founder will not be expedited for the uncovering of secretive documentation, exposing the mall-doings accruing in Guantanamo Bay and the Democratic National Committee.

The U.S. government indicted Assange on 17 espionage charges for the release of these military and diplomatic records. While U.S. lawyers stated that the “longest sentence ever imposed for this offense is 63 months,” however, the maximum penalty for such allegations is 175 years in prison.

According to his critics, the WikiLeaks creator could not have obtained these documents on his own, with allegations surfacing that Russia had a significantly underlying role in this scenario.

“The overall impression is of a depressed and sometimes despairing man, who is genuinely fearful about his future,” lower court Judge Vanessa Baraitser said in its January ruling.

“For all of these reasons, I find that Mr. Assange’s risk of committing suicide, if an extradition order were to be made, to be substantial,” she added.

However, in an appeal on the previously ruled verdict for Julian Assange extradition, the U.S. bluntly argued that Assange’s history never held a background of “serious mental illness,” nor did he ever show signs of being prone to self-harm.

In parallel, American lawyers taking charge of the WikiLeaks founder’s case stressed to British Judges that if the ruling’s appeal is made to order, the 50-year-old Australian national could serve his sentence in his home country.

Under these assurances, London’s High Court unveiled its decision given he will be treated humanely.

While the previous ruling has been reversed, the final one will emerge from the UK home secretary, with Assange having the option of appealing the verdict.