JULIAN ASSANGE. In this file photo taken on May 1, 2019 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures from the window of a prison van as he is driven into Southwark Crown Court in London, before being sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching his bail conditions in 2012. Photo by Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP
"The American authorities, the Department of Justice, will present the evidence in support of their extradition demand," Kristinn Hrafnsson told reporters.The 47-year-old Australian is not expected to attend Friday's hearing but could take part from prison via video link, although it will be largely procedural.
On the run from extradition to Sweden on accusations of sexual assault, Assange lived inside Ecuador's embassy to London for 7 years after being granted asylum.after Ecuador finally withdrew his asylum and is now serving a 50-week prison sentence for violating his bail conditions. The 18 charges against Assange reject his claim he was simply a publisher receiving leaked material -- which would be protected under press freedom legislation.He said the Espionage Act was part of an"archaic legal framework... and has never been used against a publisher and a journalist".