UK Home Secretary Priti Patel approves extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to US. There he faces 175 years in prison for espionage charges.. Wikileaks will challenge this decision, according to The Guardian..

While Patel has given the green light to extradition, Assange's legal team's pending cross-appeal will restart restarting court battle.

The legal battle is likely to focus on grounds such as the right to freedom of expression and whether the extradition request is politically motivated..

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“On June 17, after consideration by both the Magistrates’ Court and the Supreme Court, a decision was made to extradite Julian Assange to the United States.. Assange retains the usual 14-day right to appeal,” the statement said..

In this case, the UK courts did not recognize that Assange's extradition would be unfair.. They also did not find that extradition would be incompatible with his human rights, including the right to a fair trial and freedom of expression..

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Recall that Assange has been charged in the United States in connection with the publication by WikiLeaks in 2010 of 500,000 secret files detailing aspects of the military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.. He faces 175 years in prison.