Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is seen in a prison van as he leaves a court in London, Britain, on May 1, 2019. He was arrested after his eviction from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he'd lived for about seven years. File Photo by Neil Hall/EPA-EFE
Monday's ruling is a first-stage victory for the WikiLeaks founder and whistleblower in his effort to avoid being sent to the United States, where he faces charges related to classified military documents his website leaked with the help of former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010 and 2011.
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Assange lived for years at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London under political asylum, until it was revoked in April of 2019 -- at which point, U.S. prosecutors began efforts to have him extradited. File Photo by Bianca de Marchi/EPA-EFE
"The point of law certified is, 'in what circumstances can an appellate court receive assurances from a requesting state which were not before the court of first instance in extradition proceedings," Chief Justice Lord Burnett of Maldon wrote in Monday's ruling, according to the Evening Standard.
If convicted on all of the charges in the U.S. indictment, Assange could spend the rest of his life in prison.
For years, Assange avoided extradition by living at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London under asylum. In April 2019, the embassy revoked his asylum after WikiLeaks reported on a story linking Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno to corruption. He was arrested after he was evicted from the embassy.
Assange was not present in the court on Monday.