WikiLeaks stated that the United States wanted to build an espionage case against Assange shortly after its founder was arrested on 11 April.
A hearing on the US request for extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is expected to be held on 2 May in London starting at 10 a.m. local time (09:00 GMT) in Westminster Magistrate’s Court.
If found guilty of espionage, Assange could face the death penalty or imprisonment for life. However, the US Department of Justice said it was seeking Assange’s extradition over “conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to break a password to a classified US government computer”. Under the 2003 Extradition Act, the UK is prohibited from extraditing someone to a country where they could face the death penalty.
The United States has until 12 June to provide UK authorities with all necessary documents for Assange’s extradition.