Judge Paul Goldspring of Westminster Magistrates Court has issued a formal order for the extradition of Julian Assange to the US, where the founder of Wikileaks will face a trial for the publication of secret files relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The order will now have to be signed by the interior minister, Priti Patel, who will have up to two months to decide whether to confirm or reject the request. Assange’s defense has already announced that he will file an appeal within the established deadline, which will end on May 18. On March 14, the Supreme Court, the highest judicial body in the United Kingdom, gave the green light to extradition by rejecting its appeal aimed at preventing it and had instructed Goldspring to issue the order. Now the ball goes to the government.
The extradition order was issued in a brief hearing that Assange witnessed via video link from Belmarsh prison. The measure, which brings extradition closer, comes after the UK Supreme Court last month denied Assange permission to appeal a lower court ruling that he could be extradited. For years, Assange has been trying to avoid a trial in the United States linked to the publication by Wikileaks of a large amount of classified documents. Assange’s attorney Mark Summers told the court that the legal team has “serious observations” to make.