Why Julian Assange’s extradition case is taking so long

ON MAY 20TH the High Court in London ruled that should be granted a hearing on a new appeal against his extradition to America. Mr Assange, the co-founder of WikiLeaks and an Australian national, has been fighting for more than 13 years to remain in Britain. This latest appeal, in which he will argue that America has not done enough to guarantee his rights as a defendant, is one of the few legal avenues he has left. If extradited, he will face 18 charges of espionage and computer hacking: together they carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison, though America has said he is likely to serve just four to six. Mr Assange’s supporters call him a “political prisoner” and say (without evidence) that the case against him is “rigged”. What is he alleged to have done?Through WikiLeaks, a whistleblowing site, Mr Assange released huge tranches of secret documents. In 2010 the site published footage of an American helicopter crew firing at civilians in Iraq, along with records suggesting that civilian casualties in Afghanistan were higher than previously reported. Rather than releasing information selectively Mr Assange published reams of classified documents with scant regard for their contents. Later in 2010 he released hundreds of thousands of military and diplomatic papers. Few revealed any wrongdoing—but many contained sensitive information. America’s State Department accused WikiLeaks of endangering “countless innocent individuals”. Amnesty International, a human-rights group, warned that documents concerning Afghanistan could be used to identify Afghans who had supported America.