A court in the United Kingdom has approved Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States.
While the WikiLeaks founder’s extradition took several years to finalize, the final decision on whether to send him to the U.S. will be left up to British Home Secretary Priti Patel.
“In layman’s terms, I am duty-bound to send your case to the secretary of state for a decision,” Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring said during a short hearing on Wednesday.
Assange was not physically in court for the hearing and watched the proceedings via video link.
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Several supporters appeared outside Assange’s hearing to express opposition to his extradition, including former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
“He’s done absolutely no more than telling the truth to the world,” Corbyn told Sky News. “We will carry on campaigning.”
Assange is wanted by the U.S. government on charges of leaking national defense information related to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. British officials arrested the WikiLeaks founder on April 11, 2019, after he was dragged from an embassy when Ecuador revoked his political asylum.
Assange was arrested over rape charges stemming back to 2010. While the rape charges were eventually dropped, the Justice Department requested on June 11, 2019, that Britain extradite Assange to the U.S.
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A British court ruled on Jan. 24 that Assange could appeal the extradition to the British Supreme Court if he wanted. Assange’s lawyers have not said whether they will attempt to do so.
Assange married his partner, Stella Morris, during visiting hours at his prison on March 23.
