Security News > 2020 > February > Assange's UK Extradition Hearing Paused Until May
A British judge on Thursday paused Julian Assange's extradition hearing following four days of intense legal wrangling over Washington's request for the WikiLeaks founder to stand trial there on espionage charges.
The judge refused a request Thursday by Assange's lawyers to let him sit with his defence team, and not in the secure glass-walled dock area of the courtroom, when the hearing resumes.
Assange faces charges under the US Espionage Act for the 2010 release of a trove of secret files detailing aspects of US military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as a single computer hacking charge.
His extradition hearing inside Woolwich Crown Court, next to the high-security Belmarsh prison where Assange is being held, began on Monday.
In response, lawyers for Assange argued the charges were "Political", and that his extradition would violate international law and numerous treaties.