LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is facing a court hearing today over a US request to extradite him for allegedly conspiring to hack a Pentagon computer.
Assange, who is fighting attempts to send him to the United States, is expected to appear by video link from prison for the hearing at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
A few dozen supporters holding signs reading “Free Assange” and “No extradition” gather outside the courthouse before the hearing. It’s an early stage in what is likely to be a months- or years-long extradition process.
The 47-year-old Australian was sentenced Wednesday to 50 weeks in prison for jumping bail in 2012 and holing up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. At the time, he was facing extradition to Sweden for questioning over rape and sexual assault allegations made by two women.
Assange says he feared being sent to the US to face charges related to WikiLeaks’ publication of classified U.S. military documents.
Assange was arrested last month after his relationship with his embassy hosts went sour and Ecuador revoked his political asylum.
Lawyers say Assange will fight extradition to the US, where authorities have charged him with conspiring to break into a Pentagon computer system.
He is accused of scheming with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to break a password for a classified government computer.
— AP
Protestors brandish posters depicting Julian Assange as they demonstrate at the entrance of Westminster Magistrates Court in London, May 2, 2019, where WikiLeaks founder Assange is expected to appear by video link from prison. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
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From the Liveblog of
Thursday, May 2, 2019
