LONDON — The British government on Friday ordered the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges, a milestone — but not the end — of a decade-long legal saga sparked by his website’s publication of classified U.S. documents.
WikiLeaks said it would challenge the order, and Assange’s lawyers have 14 days to lodge an appeal.
“We’re not at the end of the road here,” said Assange’s wife, Stella Assange. “We’re going to fight this.”
Julian Assange has battled in British courts for years to avoid being sent to the U.S., where he faces 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse.
American prosecutors say the Australian citizen helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.
To his supporters, Assange, 50, is a secrecy-busting journalist who exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A British court ruled in April that Assange could be sent to face trial in the U.S., sending the case to the U.K. government for a decision.
Britain’s interior minister, Home Secretary Priti Patel, signed an order on Friday authorizing Assange’s extradition.