An image of Julian Assange is projected onto a building in Leake Street in central London on Sunday, April 10, 2022, to mark three years since his arrest and detention in Belmarsh prison while the United States continues with legal moves to extradite him. Assange, 50, has been held in the high security prison in southeast London since 2019 on a series of charges related to WikiLeaks’ publication of a huge trove of classified documents more than a decade ago. (Victoria Jones/PA via AP)

 

LONDON (AP) — A British judge on Wednesday formally approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges. The case will now go to Britain’s interior minister for a decision, and the WikiLeaks founder still has legal avenues of appeal.

The order comes after the U.K. Supreme Court last month refused Assange permission to appeal against a lower court’s ruling that he could be extradited.

A judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court issued the order in a brief hearing. Home Secretary Priti Patel will decide whether to grant the extradition.

The move doesn’t exhaust the legal options for Assange, who has sought for years to avoid a trial in the U.S. on charges related to WikiLeaks’ publication of a huge trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.

His lawyers have four weeks to make submissions to Patel, and can also seek to appeal to the High Court.

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