The legal team of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange began their final UK legal challenge on Tuesday (Feb. 20) to prevent him from being extradited to the United States to face spying charges, arguing that his actions had exposed serious criminal acts by US authorities and that he could face a "flagrant denial of justice" if he would be extradited.
The 52-year-old Australian was granted permission to come to court from Belmarsh Prison, but Assange's lead lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald, said that his client was unwell without elaborating further on the state of his health.
The Associated Press reported that Assange had been indicted on 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse over his website's publication of classified U.S. documents.
American prosecutors said that Assange helped former US military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.
Read Also: UK Court Approves Extradition of Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange To Face US Trial
Protests Against Assange's Extradition
Pro-Assange supporters took to the streets in London, Brussels, and Berlin to call on authorities to not extradite Assange from the UK to the US, arguing that the prosecution was politically motivated and that he would not get a fair trial across the pond.
"We don't know what to expect, but you're here because the world is watching," Assange's wife Stella told the crowd. "They just cannot get away with this. Julian needs his freedom and we all need the truth."
Stella, who married Assange in 2022, said last week that his health has deteriorated during the years of his confinement, warning that he could possibly die if he gets extradited.
If the judges rule against Assange, he could ask the European Court of Human Rights to block his extradition - though supporters worry that he could be put on a plane to the US before that happens because the British government has already signed an extradition order.
"He is being prosecuted for engaging in ordinary journalistic practice of obtaining and publishing classified information, information that is both true and of obvious and important public interest," Fitzgerald told the court.
Assange's chief lawyer also said in a written submission that his client and Wikileaks "were responsible for the exposure of criminality on the part of the US government on an unprecedented scale," especially Washington's alleged blunders in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Assange's legal team added that he could face up to 175 years in prison if convicted, though American authorities have said the sentence would likely be much shorter than that.
Related Article: Julian Assange Loses US Extradition Challenge
