Who is Julian Assange? A look at the WikiLeaks founder as he fights extradition to US

Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY
Updated ·4 min read
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A two-day hearing started Tuesday in the U.K. for one of Julian Assange's final attempts to avoid extradition to the U.S. in a decade-long battle.

Assange, the 52-year-old founder of WikiLeaks, has been indicted on more than a dozen counts of espionage in relation to leaked intelligence documents published on the website in 2010.

He has been avoiding prosecution in the U.S. since then, where his lawyers say he will undergo a politically motivated trial and could face 175 years in prison.

If the British High Court rules against Assange, he can ask the European Court of Human Rights to block his extradition.

Here's a look back the Assange's legal saga:

Previously: Six big leaks from Julian Assange's WikiLeaks over the years

Who is Julian Assange?

Julian Assange greets supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, May 19, 2017. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is facing what could be his final court hearing in England over whether he should be extradited to the United States to face spying charges. The High Court will hear two days of arguments next week over whether Assange can make his pitch to an appeals court to block his transfer to the U.S.

Julian Assange is an Australian national who founded WikiLeaks, a website known for publishing classified and confidential documents, including the operating manual for Guantanamo Bay prison camp, Iraq and Afghanistan war documents, and Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign emails.

To his advocates, he is considered a champion of government transparency and freedom of the press. Opponents see him as rogue actor whose leaks undermine national security.

His prosecution has raised questions about freedoms of the press in the digital age and the global limits of the limitations of U.S. jurisdiction in a global age.

Previously on Julian Assange: He infuriated Washington. Now he's facing life in prison

What is WikiLeaks?

WikiLeaks is a not-for-profit media organization that specializes in obtaining, analyzing and publishing confidential documents and datasets that provide information on war, spying and corruption, according to its website.

WikiLeaks was founded in 2006 and says it published more than 10 million documents.

The organization's latest publication appears to be from August 2021.

What did Julian Assange do?

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seen with his ankle security tag at the house where he is required to stay, near Bungay, England, on June 15, 2011. Assange's lawyers are arguing against extradition to the U.S. in a U.K. court stating Feb. 20, 2024.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seen with his ankle security tag at the house where he is required to stay, near Bungay, England, on June 15, 2011. Assange's lawyers are arguing against extradition to the U.S. in a U.K. court stating Feb. 20, 2024.

The U.S. Justice Department is looking to extradite Assange to face 17 charges related to the Espionage Act of 1917 and an additional computer hacking charge.

The charges came after WikiLeaks published a trove of classified documents outlining U.S. military action provided by former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.

The site published video footage from a U.S. helicopter attack that killed civilians. In the months that followed, it also published hundreds of thousands of documents that included information about civilian deaths, the hunt for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and Iran's backing of militants in Iraq.

The U.S. government alleges that Assange is a criminal who conspired with Manning to steal the documents and put lives of those who worked with the military at risk. Prosecutors said Assange went as far as to help crack a military computer password.

Julian Assange timeline: Exile and extradition

Here is how Assange has avoided U.S. prosecution since 2010:

  • Assange was accused of rape and sexual assault in Sweden in 2010. (Authorities ended the investigation without charging him because of weakened evidence.)

  • In 2012, he was found guilty of skipping bail. He fled to Ecuador's embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden. He feared Sweden would extradite him to the U.S.

  • From 2012 to 2019, Assange lived at the embassy with his cat.

  • On April 11, 2019, Assange was arrested on a U.S. charge of hacking military computers and dragged from the door of the embassy and taken to Belmarsh Prison in London, which houses some of Britain's most dangerous lawbreakers.

  • On June 17, 2022, the British interior minister approved the extradition. A British district court initially rejected the request on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if held in hard U.S. prison conditions. Assange appealed.

Where is Julian Assange?

Demonstrators hold banners outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will make his final appeal against his impending extradition to the United States at the court.
Demonstrators hold banners outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will make his final appeal against his impending extradition to the United States at the court.

Julian Assange has been in prison in the U.K. for nearly five years.

He did not join his lawyers in court Tuesday as they said he was unwell.

A decision on his extradition could come after the hearing ends Wednesday, but the judges are likely to take longer to consider the decision. If they decide to uphold the extradition, supporters worry he will be U.S.-bound before he has a chance to appeal.

Contributing: Kim Hjelmgaard and William Cummings, USA TODAY; Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Julian Assange? WikiLeaks founder fights extradition to US