In the metropolis of London, a judicial assembly is slated for Tuesday to adjudicate whether Julian Assange, the initiator of WikiLeaks, secures one ultimate opportunity in England to contest extradition to the United States on charges of espionage.

A duo of adjudicators is anticipated to render a decision in the High Court, a ruling that could draw the curtain on Assange’s protracted legal odyssey—or prolong it even further.

Should he falter in his pursuit for the privilege of appeal, his legal counsel harbors apprehensions that he might expeditiously be dispatched to the U.S. to face allegations, although they are inclined to entreat the European Court of Human Rights to obstruct any such transfer.

At the age of 52, Assange has been formally charged with 17 counts of espionage and an additional accusation of computer misuse, stemming from the dissemination of a cache of classified U.S. documents nearly a decade and a half ago. American prosecutors assert that Assange not only abetted but also abetted and collaborated with U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in pilfering diplomatic cables and military records, subsequently disseminated by WikiLeaks.

During a two-day adjudication session the preceding month, Assange’s legal representatives contended that he embodied the essence of a muckraking journalist, intent on unveiling instances of malfeasance within the U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. They contend that subjecting him to the jurisdiction of the United States would expose him to a prosecution motivated by political considerations, thereby engendering a scenario tantamount to a blatant miscarriage of justice.

Conversely, the U.S. administration maintains that Assange’s conduct transcended the purview of conventional journalism, imperiling lives in his pursuit to induce, pilfer, and indiscriminately disseminate classified government materials.

The Australian computer savant has been incarcerated within a British penitentiary renowned for its stringent security protocols for the past quintet of years.

Assange’s kith and kin, along with his supporters, assert that his physical and psychological well-being have been grievously compromised throughout the course of more than a decade ensnared in the labyrinth of legal entanglements, including seeking refuge within the confines of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London from 2012 until 2019.

“Julian is a captive of politics and must be emancipated,” remarked Stella Assange, who entered into matrimony with the founder of WikiLeaks while he was behind bars in 2022.

His legal advocates posit that should he be found culpable, Assange could potentially face a sentence of up to 175 years, notwithstanding assertions from American authorities suggesting that the actual duration of his incarceration is anticipated to be considerably shorter.