Julian Assange says he does not want to be extradited to the United States

[May 02, 2019]    LONDON (Reuters) - Wikileaks founder Julian Assange told a London court on Thursday he did not want to be extradited to the United States to face trial for one of the largest compromises of classified information in history.

The United States has requested the extradition of Assange, who was dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy in London on April 11, and has charged him with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion which carries a maximum penalty of five years.

Asked at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court whether he agreed to be extradited to the United States, Assange, appearing via a video link from a British prison, said he did not wish to surrender to extradition.

The case was adjourned until May 30 for a procedural hearing with a more substantial hearing planned for June 12. The full extradition hearing was some months away, the court was told.

Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks in prison by a British court on Wednesday for skipping bail when he holed up in Ecuador's London embassy for seven years until police dragged him out last month.

Assange sought refuge in the embassy in June 2012 to avoid an extradition order to Sweden over an allegation of rape, which he denies.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Alistair Smout)

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