Julian Assange evacuated from the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
In recent weeks, those close to Julian Assange, detained for five years in the high security Belmarsh prison in London, have warned of the deterioration of his state of health.
His defense also highlights a risk of suicide in the event of extradition.
Suffering, he was absent from the February hearings, during which dozens of his supporters came to show their support.
During these two days of debates, Julian Assange's lawyers tried to convince the magistrates that these proceedings against him were political, and that extradition would put his health and even his life in danger.
The Australian is being prosecuted for ordinary journalistic practices consisting of obtaining and publishing information, argued his lawyer Edward Fitzgerald. His client faces a disproportionate sentence in the United States and there is a real risk that he will suffer a flagrant miscarriage of justice, he added.
Lawyer Clair Dobbin, who represents the American government, argued that Mr. Assange had indiscriminately and knowingly published the names of individuals who served as sources of information for the United States.
It is these facts that distinguish him (from other media), not his political opinions, he said. -she argues.
In January 2021, British justice initially ruled in favor of the founder of WikiLeaks. Citing a risk of suicide, judge Vanessa Baraitser refused to give the green light to extradition. But this decision was later overturned.
In an attempt to reassure him about the treatment that would be inflicted on him, the United States claimed that he would not be incarcerated at the high security ADX prison in Florence (Colorado), nicknamed the Alcatraz of the Rockies, and that he would receive the necessary clinical and psychological care.
The Americans had also raised the possibility that he could ask to serve his sentence in Australia.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently denounced the prosecution of Mr. Assange by the American justice system, and the Australian Parliament adopted a motion calling for an end to it.