UK court rules in favor of US in appeal to extradite Julian Assange

The United States has won its appeal in London’s High Court over the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Report informs referring to ABC News.

The win means Assange is a step closer to being extradited to the US to face charges of conspiring to hack government computers and of violating espionage law.

Judge Timothy Holroyde said the United States had given assurances to the United Kingdom about Assange’s detention, including about his treatment in the US prison system and that the US would allow him to be transferred to Australia to serve any prison sentence.

Judge Holroyde ordered that the case now be sent back to Westminster Magistrates' Court with the direction that it be sent to Home Secretary Priti Patel for the final decision on whether to extradite Assange.

Assange has been remanded in custody. He will remain behind bars at London's Belmarsh prison, where he has been held since his arrest in April 2019.

Senior judges found the judge had based her decision in January on the risk of Assange being held in highly restrictive prison conditions if extradited.

However, the US authorities later gave assurances that he would not face those strictest measures unless he committed an act in the future that merited them.