The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, presented before a London court the resource with which he tries to prevent his extradition to the United States, authorized two weeks ago by the United Kingdom government.
Assange had until today Friday to appeal the approval of the Minister of the Interior, Priti Patel. Local authorities confirmed that she took the step. Her lawyers had anticipated that they would exhaust all legal channels.
A group of his supporters gathered today in front of the Ministry of the Interior to protest against his arrest and to pay tribute to him on his 51st birthday on Sunday.
Assange faces 18 criminal charges in the United States, and will face espionage charges if extradited. He faces a total of 175 years behind bars, although the government maintains that he would likely be sentenced to between four and six years.
Assange has been imprisoned in the UK since April 2019, when he was arrested after nearly seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
The founder of Wikileaks took refuge in the Embassy to avoid his possible extradition to Sweden.