AT A GLANCE

– A UK judge will rule on Julian Assange’s extradition on January 4, 2021.
– The United States government wants to extradite Assange for publishing evidence of war crimes and illegal spying in 2010. He faces a 175-year sentence.
– All major free speech & free press organizations including Amnesty and Reporters Without Borders, major media (including The New York Times, The Guardian, Washington Post and The Times UK) and journalist organizations including US, British, and Australian journalist unions have condemned the U.S. government’s theory of the case as an unprecedented threat to the First Amendment right to publish.
– The decision is expected to be appealed and would then be referred to a higher court.