OREANDA-NEWS. The court will not decide on the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States earlier than 2021. This was reported on September 25 by the company WikiLeaks, citing a statement by Judge Vanessa Baraitser, under whose chairmanship the case is being considered at the Central Criminal Court in London. “Judge has now stated ruling will not be made before 2021 – after the upcoming US election,” the message posted on Twitter reads.

The United States Department of Justice has filed 18 criminal charges against Assange. In particular, he is accused of crimes related to the largest case of disclosure of classified information in the history of the USA. On all charges, Assange faces up to 175 years in prison. The hearings, which began on September 7, were originally scheduled for four weeks.

If the request of the American authorities is satisfied, the defense will have the opportunity to challenge the decision in the High Court of Justice in London, and then in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom or in the European Court of Human Rights, which may take years.