The Supreme Court of London decided on Tuesday to postpone its decision on the appeal in the case of Australian journalist Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks portal, so that he is not immediately extradited to the United States.
Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, has a chance to continue his fight against extradition to the US after the Supreme Court in London said the US must provide more guarantees.
U.S. prosecutors plan to try Assange, 52, on 18 counts related to WikiLeaks’ publication of classified U.S. military files.
In February, Assange’s lawyers sought permission to challenge Britain’s approval of his extradition to the United States on the grounds that his prosecution was politically motivated.
In their ruling, two senior judges said Assange had a real chance of successfully challenging his extradition to the United States for several reasons.
The court gave US authorities the opportunity to provide “satisfactory assurances” on whether he could invoke the First Amendment of the US Constitution and whether he could be sentenced to death.
If these guarantees are not provided, Assange will be given permission to appeal. A new hearing is scheduled for May 20.
The United States argues that WikiLeaks’ revelations endangered the lives of its agents and that there is no excuse for their criminality.
