Detained for five years in the United Kingdom and demanded by the United States, the founder of WikiLeaks was granted this Monday by the British justice system a new appeal against his extradition.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal his extradition order to the United States on espionage charges, a London court ruled on Monday.
Mr. Assange, 52, was charged with 17 counts of espionage and one count of misuse of a computer following the publication almost 15 years ago years, of a set of classified American documents on its website.
The Australian has spent the last five years in a high-security British prison after taking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years. The WikiLeaks founder did not appear in court for health reasons, his lawyer said.
Edward Fitzgerald said prosecutors had failed to ensure that Mr Assange, who is an Australian citizen and claims protections as a journalist for publishing classified US information, could rely on the press protections provided by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
US prosecutors accuse Mr Assange of encouraging and assisting US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in stealing military files published by WikiLeaks.