#Assange #appeals #extradition
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday appealed against his extradition to the United States as supporters denounced the British government.
Assange, who turns 51 on Sunday, has been in a high-security prison since 2019.
On Friday, his wife Stella was among dozens of people who demonstrated outside the UK Home Office to demand his release.
Home Secretary Priti Patel approved the extradition last month, but court officials confirmed to AFP that an appeal was received on Friday.
“We’re not at the end of the road here,” Stella Assange, who married the Australian publisher earlier this year, told reporters when Patel announced her decision.
“We will fight against it. We will use all legal remedies.”
Assange is set to face trial for allegedly violating US espionage laws by releasing military and diplomatic filings related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2010.
He could face decades in prison if found guilty, but supporters are portraying him as a martyr to press freedom after he was taken into British custody after spending years in the Ecuadorian embassy.
“He was in jail for speaking the truth,” 79-year-old supporter Gloria Wildman told AFP at Friday’s protest.
“If Julian Assange is not free, neither are we, none of us are free,” she said.
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