Can WikiLeaks' Assange avoid U.S. trial?

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will face off with the United States government on Monday. Assange is heading back to London's High Court as he fights to avoid a possible trial on American soil. 

Watch the video above for more on the Assange case

The Australian is facing 18 charges for allegedly sourcing and publishing nearly half a million secret files held by the United States. Lawyers for the U.S. government say the documents contain details about America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

They also say the files reveal the identities of people who provided intelligence to the United States. They argue that Assange compromised the safety of those informants.     

The 52-year-old has been in London's Belmarsh prison since 2019. British officials detained him after he was convicted of skipping bail in a separate case. The United States filed an extradition request in 2019, but Assange has opposed the application, saying he won't get a fair trial in the U.S.

The High Court has already ruled that Assange can be extradited. It must now decide whether he has grounds to appeal. 

Assange's wife, Stella, told Reuters that she's struggled to deal with the uncertainty ahead of the hearing. "It's impossible to really prepare for this moment," she said. "What I do feel is that anything could happen, that Julian could be very close to being freed, or he could be very close to being put on a plane.” 

Court calls for guarantees 

The court has said it will allow the extradition if the U.S. can provide certain guarantees. It wants to be sure that Assange won't face the death penalty and won't be treated unfairly as a foreign national. It also says he should be allowed to rely on the First Amendment, which protects free speech in the U.S. 

Assange has argued that he may not get any of that protection because he is not an American citizen. He may have some basis for that claim. The U.S. government offered assurances to the High Court last month, but stopped short of promising that the First Amendment would apply to Assange. It says America's courts are the only authority that can take that decision. 

The U.S. has addressed the court's other concerns, stating that prosecutors won't seek the death penalty and that there's no reason to believe he'll face any bias.

"My heart is preparing for the win”

Assange has another option if the court rejects his bid to appeal. He could approach the European Court of Human Rights, based in France. That would force British authorities to hold off, buying him more time. 

But Stella Assange says her husband may face a race against time if the High Court rules against him. She says the U.S. could try to extradite him before he has a chance to file a case with the European court. 

"My heart is preparing for the win," says Assange. "But I have to keep my head focused on the fact that he's very close to being extradited.”  

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