Julian Assange wins right to challenge US extradition

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can appeal his extradition to the United States, the High Court has ruled.

He was allowed to appeal the order that he be sent to the United States to stand trial for disclosing military secrets, which prosecutors said put lives at risk.

The decision means Mr Assange will be able to challenge US assurances about how his possible trial would proceed and whether his right to free speech would be violated.

Mr Assange’s lawyers hugged each other in court after the ruling.

They argued that the charges against him were politically motivated.

In a short ruling this morning, two senior judges granted him permission to appeal an earlier order, ruling that he should be given a full appeal in the UK.

Mr Assange, currently incarcerated in Belmarsh prison, will now have several months to prepare his appeal, which will focus on whether or not US courts will protect his right to freedom of expression as an Australian citizen.

He claims his revelations in 2010 revealed war crimes committed by the United States.

Mr Assange’s supporters cheered as news of the decision filtered out of the courtroom.

This means he will remain in the UK for the time being.

Had the court ruled in favor of the US, Mr Assange would have exhausted all legal avenues in the UK.

He resisted extradition from the UK for more than a decade after his Wikileaks site published thousands of classified US documents in 2010 and 2011.

The U.S. Department of Justice described the leaks as “one of the largest compromises of classified information in U.S. history.”

Records suggested the U.S. military killed civilians in unreported incidents during the war in Afghanistan.

US authorities say Mr Assange put lives at risk by failing to redact the names of intelligence officers in documents, but his lawyers have argued this was a form of “retaliation by the State” politically motivated.