London, April 17 (RHC)-- The possible extradition of imprisoned WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange to the United States has edged a step closer.  

On Tuesday, the Biden administration provided assurances to the British High Court that Assange would not face the death penalty and that his First Amendment rights would be protected if he were to be extradited from Britain, where he has been locked up for five years. 

Assange’s wife Stella slammed the U.S. response, saying: “The diplomatic note does nothing to relieve our family’s extreme distress about his future — his grim expectation of spending the rest of his life in isolation in U.S. prison for publishing award-winning journalism.”