The United Kingdom High Court delayed its ruling on whether Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks Founder, can be extradited to the United States.

Details: The Court stated it will not decide on extradition until the U.S. provides certainty that Assange, if convicted, will not be eligible for the death penalty and will be treated with First Amendment protections as if he were a US citizen. The US has been given three weeks to provide these assurances.

For Context: Assange faces 17 charges related to publishing classified documents via WikiLeaks. U.S. authorities allege that Assange recruited hackers to leak classified information, resulting in one of the most significant breaches of classified data in U.S. history. His defense argues the charges are political and that Assange's actions fall under regular journalistic activities of obtaining and publishing classified information. He has been in London's high-security Belmarsh Prison since 2019 after spending seven years in Ecuador's embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden on unrelated charges that were later dropped. If extradited and convicted in the U.S., Assange faces a potential 175-year prison term. His legal team has suggested that they would appeal to the European courts for intervention if the extradition goes forward.

How the Media Covered It: Assange’s legal proceedings are being covered moderately across the spectrum. NPR News (Lean Left bias) and CNBC (Center bias) detailed specific instances of military misconduct revealed through WikiLeaks, while Fox News (Right bias) briefly mentioned “alleged war crimes” included in the leaks. This summary was developed with the help of AllSides' AI technology.