UK judge sends Julian Assange extradition decision to government

The procedural step, in what has been a long-running and high-profile legal battle, was announced at a hearing in central London following a March decision to deny Australian-born Assange permission to appeal against his extradition.

The extradition order must now be signed by Patel, after which Assange can try to challenge the decision by judicial review. A judicial review involves a judge examining the legitimacy of a public body's decision.

Outside the court, a group of people, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, rallied to urge the court to free Assange. Speaking to journalists, Corbyn said he hoped Priti Patel would recognize her “huge responsibility” to stand up for free speech, journalism, and democracy in the decision she is to make. “He has done no more than tell the world about military planning, military policies, and the horrors of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and I think he deserves to be thanked,” he said.

Assange, 50, is wanted in the United States on 18 criminal charges, including breaking a spying law, after WikiLeaks published thousands of secret U.S. files in 2010.

He denies any wrongdoing.

Assange has been in a southeast London jail since 2019, and before that was holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in the British capital for seven years.