UK Judge Rejects Extradition of WikiLeaks Founder Assange

On Monday, a British judge issued a ruling refusing to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States (US) on espionage charges.

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled that extradition would be “oppressive” because of Assange's mental health, according to ABC news.

Assange faces 18 charges, including espionage and piracy, thus he might face up to 175 years in jail, if convicted, according to the British newspaper "Daily Mail".

Washington accused Assange of violating the espionage law by conspiring with Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst to leak a batch of classified material in 2010, related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

An appeal is expected regardless of the ruling, which means that the case could ultimately be heard in the UK Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.