Julian Assange’s legal fight against extradition to the United States could take years, according to legal experts.
The US Department of Justice unsealed computer hacking charges against the 47-year-old Australian on Thursday, after his political asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London was revoked and he was arrested by British authorities.
But Assange’s lawyers vowed to fight any attempts to haul him out of the UK and before a US court — and legal eagles say the court battle won’t be over quickly.
“Even if US and the UK agree, he has a right to challenge it all the way to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom,” Eric Lewis, an expert on extraditions, told the Washington Post, adding that the battle could take “years rather than months.”
British lawyers told UK newspaper the Times he could possibly appeal even further, up to the Court of Justice of the European Union, and that the whole process would take up to two years.
Assange will likely be kept locked up through the court battle, lawyer Ben Keith told the Times.
“He will probably be remanded to custody at Wandsworth or a similar London prison,” Keith told the paper.