Ilustrativa

London, August 27 (RHC)--  Lawyers for WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange have filed an appeal against his extradition to the US, as the United Nations human rights chief lends support to the Australian’s cause.

Assange, 51, has been indicted on 17 espionage charges in the US and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks’ publication of thousands of military and diplomatic documents leaked by whistleblower Chelsea Manning. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.

According to The Guardian, WikiLeaks says Assange’s legal team filed “perfected grounds of appeal” in the UK’s high court against the US and the UK home secretary, Priti Patel, who approved his extradition in June.

Assange’s lawyers argue he is “being prosecuted and punished for his political opinions.”

His wife said the prosecution was unlawful. “Overwhelming evidence has emerged proving that the US prosecution against my husband is a criminal abuse,” Stella Assange said on Twitter on Saturday.

“The high court judges will now decide whether Julian is allowed to put the case against the US before open court, and in full, at the appeal.”

Assange remains in London’s Belmarsh prison, where he has been in detention since April 2019.

(Source The Guardian)