U.K. court delays decision on Julian Assange’s extradition to U.S.

LONDON—British judges ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can’t immediately be extradited to the U.S. to face spying charges, opening the way for months of further legal wrangling over the fate of the former hacker.

Assange, 52, who has spent the past five years in a London prison, is fighting a drawn-out legal battle with the British government to avoid being sent to the U.S. to face trial for publishing thousands of confidential military records and diplomatic cables that painted a highly critical picture of America’s actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

British courts approved Assange’s extradition to the U.S. in 2022, a decision he has since been trying to overturn. His lawyers last month argued that he should be given one final appeal, saying he faced prosecution in the U.S. for his political views, and that extradition would be an attack on his right to free speech.

Judges in the High Court on Tuesday sided with Assange’s lawyers, saying he had “a real prospect of success” on several of his grounds to appeal. The court said the U.S. now has three weeks to give further assurances that Assange won’t be subject to prejudice at trial, that the Australian will be granted the same free-speech protections as a U.S. citizen and that the death penalty won’t be imposed. The court will decide on May 20 if the assurances are satisfactory and make a final decision on whether Assange can appeal extradition.

U.S. prosecutors alleged that in 2010 Assange conspired to help former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning break into a Defense Department computer system by trying to help her crack a password. He faces 18 counts of conspiring to disclose classified information and hack a military computer in relation to WikiLeaks’s releases.

Lawyers for Assange argued that he merely published information given to him, much as a journalist would, and so shouldn’t face punishment. His lawyers say that any prosecution would set a negative precedent for governments to pursue investigative journalists.

During a hearing last month in London, lawyers representing the U.S. government said Assange risked “the strategic and national security interests of the United States and put the safety of individuals at serious risk.” Assange is “not being prosecuted because of his ‘political opinions,’ but that he was being prosecuted because he is alleged to have committed serious criminal offenses,” it added. The U.S. government alleges that Assange didn’t merely publish information but also helped hack databases to acquire it.

Justice Department officials and Assange’s lawyers have held preliminary talks about a plea deal, according to people familiar with the matter, that would allow him to avoid serving time in a U.S. jail. Assange’s lawyers say that they have no indication that Justice Department officials would agree to such a deal.

Several of those who directly took classified information to give to WikiLeaks have been put in jail. Manning served seven years before her sentence was commuted by President Obama. Joshua Schulte, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer, was this month sentenced to 40 years for stealing secrets and handing them to WikiLeaks in 2017.

Assange’s lawyers alleged in court that handing him to U.S. authorities would subject him to inhumane treatment. As evidence, they pointed to a media report alleging the CIA had discussed the possibility of kidnapping or killing Assange, as well as comments by former CIA chief Mike Pompeo that WikiLeaks was a “non-state hostile intelligence service.” The CIA has in the past declined to comment. Lawyers representing the U.S. government said that the media report in question was opinion and that Pompeo was no longer in office.

In 2019, the U.S. formally requested that Assange be extradited to face charges. A British judge ruled Assange had a history of evading justice so should remain in prison awaiting decision on his deportation. A long-winded legal battle then played out. In January 2021, a British judge ruled Assange shouldn’t be extradited, saying that given his mental state he would be at risk of suicide if convicted and held in a maximum-security prison.

But that decision was overturned after an appeal by U.S. authorities who gave a package of assurances, including a pledge he could be transferred to Australia to serve any sentence. Assange looked to appeal that decision but all his legal avenues were shut down one by one.

Write to Max Colchester at Max.Colchester@wsj.com and Aruna Viswanatha at aruna.viswanatha@wsj.com