Assange fighting extradition to US

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Thursday that he would fight his extradition to the U.S., where he is accused of conspiring to hack government computers.

Assange said in court that he would not surrender to extradition for doing what he called “journalism that has won many awards,” according to The Associated Press.

He reportedly appeared in court by video link from London’s Belmarsh Prison, where he is serving a 50-week jail sentence for skipping bail when he sought refuge inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012. 

{mosads}After seven years in the embassy, Assange was arrested last month in London on behalf of authorities in the U.S. after Ecuador revoked his political asylum.

The Department of Justice announced that charges were filed against Assange for allegedly conspiring to hack into computers in connection with the organization’s release of classified government cables from Chelsea Manning, a former Army private and intelligence analyst.

On Thursday, Judge Michael Snow said the extradition case will take “many months” and set a new procedural hearing for May 30, according to the AP.

A more substantive hearing will take place June 12, he added.