When was Julian Assange arrested? UK government approves US extradition of Wikileaks founder

Julian Assange was arrested in April 2019 at the Ecuadorean embassy in London. The 48-year-old Australian sought asylum at the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden on a r*pe allegation that has since been dropped.

Earlier Thursday, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel approved America's request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The Home Secretary signed the order on June 17th. Assange faces hacking and espionage charges in the U.S.

Assange has 14 days to appeal the decision, the Home Office said.

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"A dark day for press freedom," says WikiLeaks over Julian Assange's extradition

Julian Assange faces 18 charges in the U.S., where he is accused of conspiring to hack government computers and breaching the Espionage Act. This was when WikiLeaks published confidential military and diplomatic documents in 2010. If convicted, he could be sentenced up to 175 years in prison.

After the announcement of Assange's extradition, WikiLeaks said:

"This is a dark day for press freedom and for British democracy."

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Patel was termed an "accomplice" in America's "agenda to turn investigative journalism into a criminal enterprise." In a statement, a representative for the UK Home Office defended the decision and said:

"Nor have they found that extradition would be incompatible with his human rights, including his right to a fair trial and to freedom of expression, and that whilst in the US he will be treated appropriately, including in relation to his health."

Assange lived in Ecuador's embassy in London as an asylum seeker from 2012 — after losing an extradition case to Sweden in April 2019. However, Ecuador withdrew its protection, and he was eventually dragged out of the Ecuadorean embassy in London by the police.

He was then taken to Belmarsh prison in London, where he currently resides. The extradition has raised concerns over the legal status of journalists and whistleblowers.

Groups like Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders have urged the American government to drop the charges, warning that the prosecution could have a chilling effect on reporters’ willingness to publish newsworthy leaked documents.

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Julian Assange has a tough legal battle ahead

The U.S. justice department slapped 17 charges against Assange for violating the Espionage Act. However, Assange's legal team maintained that the classified documents published by WikiLeaks exposed US wrongdoing and were in the public interest.

The documents revealed how the US military killed civilians in unreported incidents in Afghanistan. Iraqi war files showed 66,000 civilians killed and prisoners tortured by Iraqi forces.

After revealing this, Assange feared prosecution from America. He then sought asylum in 2012 from the Ecuadorean embassy, where he stayed for seven years. Assange claimed he was a victim of human rights abuses and would face a life sentence if extradited.

Earlier, his extradition was blocked by UK judges following concerns about his mental health.