OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 10:38 AM PT — Friday, June 14, 2019
A British court has set a hearing date for WikiLeak’s founder Julian Assange’s extradition to the U.S. A full extradition hearing has reportedly been set for February 25th of next year, and is expected to last at least five days.
Supporters of Assange gathered in protest ahead of the the announcement as he reportedly told magistrates via video link that “175 years of his life is at stake.” His attorneys claimed the charges of hacking and releasing classified documents is a “full-frontal assault on journalistic rights.”
Jennifer Robinson, lawyer of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, addresses the media at Westminster Magistrates Court in London, Friday, June 14, 2019. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is expected to appear at hearing in a London court via video link as he continues his fight against extradition to the United States.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
“No publisher or journalist should ever be extradited for publishing truthful information, information for which they have won journalism awards the world over,” stated Assange attorney Jennifer Robinson. “This will set a terrible precedent, and it’s one that no democratic government should be standing for.”
Assange has remained in U.K. custody since his arrest in April after spending seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. He has reportedly had health troubles while in prison, and was too ill to appear in court two weeks ago.
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