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Assange's U.S. extradition hearing resumes in U.K. as WikiLeaks founder admonished for outbursts

Judge tells Assange hearing will proceed without him if he continues to interrupt witnesses.

Published: September 8, 2020 9:41am

Updated: September 8, 2020 1:42pm

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, wanted in the U.S. on espionage charges, returned this week to a London court to resume an extradition hearing to return him to the United States to face prosecution. 

The hearings resumed Monday after being delayed for months because of the coronavirus pandemic, and are expected to continue through October.

The 49-year-old Assange faces 18 charges related to espionage and computer misuse, in connection with WikiLeaks publishing secret U.S. military documents in 2010. 

Assange was arrested in London in 2019 after Ecuador revoked his asylum after seven years and forced him to leave the country's embassy in the United Kingdom.

The embattled Assange has already run afoul of the court. On Tuesday, a British judge told Assange that his hearing will proceed without him if he continues to speak from the dock and interrupt witnesses, according to the Associated Press.

 

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