Key Points:
- A two day hearing to overturn Julian Assange's extradition order has concluded.
- Stella Assange, Julian Assange's wife says if he is extradited he will die.
- The final ruling is not expected until early March at the earliest.
After two days of hearings, a UK court will now decide if Julian Assange will be extradited to the United States.
If Assange loses the appeal he will be extradited and prosecuted under the Espionage Act.
If convicted under the Act, Assange could be sentenced to 175 years in jail over WikiLeaks' high-profile release of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables.
The US argues that releasing the documents endangered US agents lives and that there was no excuse for his criminality.
Why is Julian Assange in court?
Assange is fighting to overturn a extradition order that was first approved by then-Home Secretary, Priti Patel, in June 2022.
He attempted to have the order overturned last year - but a judge at London’s High Court turned down his request for an appeal.
The WikiLeaks founder published thousands of classified US military and diplomatic documents in 2010, which were provided by US army whistleblower Chelsea Manning.
Politically motivated case
During the trial, lawyers for Assange have said that the charges against him are "political" and that he was being prosecuted "for engaging in ordinary journalistic practice of obtaining and publishing classified information".
They also argued that the decades-long prison sentence he faces is "disproportionate", accusing the US of acting in "bad faith" and contravening its extradition treaty with Britain.
Assange's lawyers told London's High Court the case was politically motivated, saying Assange was targeted for his exposure of "state-level crimes".
However lawyers for the US said his prosecution was "based on the rule of law and evidence".
"The appellant's prosecution might be unprecedented but what he did was unprecedented," said Clair Dobbin, a lawyer for the US.
Outside the scope of journalism
Assange's supporters hail him as a journalist and a hero who is being persecuted for exposing US wrongdoing.
Dobbin argued that Assange had "solicited" the secret US files and, in eventually publishing them "indiscriminately" without redactions, his actions were "unprecedented" and did not constitute journalism.
"The evidence shows that from the time the appellant started WikiLeaks ... he sought to recruit individuals with access to classified information," Dobbin added. "He worked with hackers".
Assange "indiscriminately and knowingly published to the world the names of individuals who acted as sources of information to the US," she said.
One of Assange's lawyers Mark Summers argued there was "no proof at all that any harm actually eventuated".
'In bad health'
Concerns about Assange's physical and mental well-being have been raised by supporters and his wife since his time at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, the place where he sought asylum for seven years to avoid being extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault charges.
After being moved to Belmarsh prison in 2019, those concerns persisted, with Assange suffering a mini-stroke while incarcerated.
"He's obviously in bad health," his wife Stella Assange told SBS News.
A UK district judge previously blocked his extradition on the grounds he would likely die by suicide if in US custody.
Assange was absent from court for the two-day session, and did not follow the proceedings via video due to illness, his lawyer said.
"He is not well today, he is not attending," his lawyer Edward Fitzgerald told London's High Court.
Speaking to reporters, Stella Assange described the situation as "extremely grave" as his mental and physical health were "in decline".
"If he is extradited, he will die," she said.
Conspiracy to kidnap
Summers - Assange's lawyer - described the alleged "truly breathtaking plan" to kidnap or murder Assange while he was living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London by the US.
It was also revealed during the trial that former US President Donald Trump had allegedly asked for "detailed options" to kill him.
In 2021, Yahoo News reported CIA officials had drawn up options for Trump's administration for dealing with Assange while he was in the embassy.
Assange lived at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years to avoid extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault charges. Source: EPA / Facundo Arrizabalaga
In their written submissions, lawyers for the US government countered by saying their case against Assange was "consistently and repeatedly misrepresented" by his legal team.
What happens next?
The two-day trial was overseen by judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson who are expected to deliver their verdict in early March at the earliest.
If Assange wins this case, a full appeal hearing will be held to again consider his challenge. If he loses, his only remaining option would be to escalate his claim to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Stella Assange has said his lawyers would apply to the ECHR for an emergency injunction if necessary. However, there's real concern among Assange's team that the British government could try to put him on a plane before that can happen.
Kristinn Hrafnsson is the current Editor of WikiLeaks.
"There are examples where people have been brought from the courthouse … straight to the airport to be flown out on a rendition plane … so we prepare for the worst case scenario," he said.
The Australian parliament last week called for Assange to be allowed to return to his homeland.
Australian MP Andrew Wilkie, who attended the hearing, said he hoped it sent a strong message to both the UK and US governments to end the legal fight.
"This has gone on long enough," he said.
- Additional reporting by Ben Lewis and Anna Bailey
