(VOVWORLD) -WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was given permission by London’s High Court on Monday to appeal his extradition to the US.
 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in Norfolk, east of England (Archive photo: AFP/VNA)
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According to a ruling issued by two London High Court judges, Assange’s appeal should apply to all 18 counts, not just three, as lawyers for the US have argued.
The High Court granted him provisional permission in March to appeal on grounds that he might be discriminated against as a foreign national, but invited the US to submit assurances. Later assurances from the US failed to convince the judges. Assange himself was not present at the May 20 trial, which his lawyer said was for health reasons.
Assange’s wife Stella said she has informed him of the court's decision and asked the US government to drop the lawsuit.
“In the meantime, Julian remains in Belmarsh, and this case continues to drag on. I hope that the US administration looks at the case now and takes a very serious look at it and considers that it should just be dropped. That's what the signal should be clear that it's time to drop it,” said Stella.
The Australian-born Assange, 52, is wanted in the US on 18 charges, nearly all under the Espionage Act, relating to WikiLeaks' mass release of secret US documents – the largest such security breach in US history.
In 2022, British officials approved a request to extradite Assange to the US to stand trial for the charges. If convicted in the US, he would face a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison. He has been held at Belmarsh prison, southeast of London, since April 2019.