UK: Assange appears in London court

LONDON

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, on Thursday appeared in a British court for a hearing on whether he will be extradited to the U.S.

Assange, 47, appeared via video link at the Westminster magistrates Court for a hearing on whether he will face extradition to the U.S. to face prosecution in connection to one of the largest leaks of classified information in the U.S.’s history.

The court hearing lasted a few minutes in which Assange said he does not give consent to be extradited to the U.S. The court also heard that any extradition process would take many months.

"I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that has won many awards and protected many people,” Assange told the court, according to local media.

Thursday’s court hearing and Assange’s statement came a day after the WikiLeaks founder was jailed for 50 weeks for breaching the bail act in 2012 following his arrest last month.

Outside the court house, a number of activists and supporters gathered to protest the jail sentence and the push for extradition.

In 2012, Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorean embassy in London to avoid being extradited to Sweden over allegations of sexual assault, allegations Assange denies. These charges were subsequently dropped, though Assange remained in the embassy.

Last month, Assange was arrested by British authorities at the Ecuadorean embassy in London after the Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno ended his asylum.

If extradited to the U.S. and convicted, Assange could face 5 years in prison.