He’s needed within the US on 18 legal fees after WikiLeaks printed hundreds of categorised recordsdata and diplomatic cables in 2010. If convicted, Assange faces as much as 175 years in jail.
Assange joined the listening to just about from the excessive safety Belmarsh Jail in London, the place he has been held since being dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London three years in the past. He said his full identify and date of delivery.
His extradition has been the topic of quite a few courtroom dates since his arrest, which passed off after Assange sought diplomatic refuge within the embassy for seven years. In January 2021, a magistrates’ courtroom ruling discovered that Assange couldn’t be extradited as it could be “oppressive,” by purpose of his psychological well being.
However the Excessive Courtroom overturned that call in December, saying Assange could possibly be extradited to the US on the premise of assurances given by the US authorities about his remedy there.
These included pledges that Assange wouldn’t be made the topic of “particular administrative measures,” nor would he be held at a most safety jail earlier than or after trial.