The procedural step, in what has been a long-running and high-profile legal battle, was announced at a hearing in central London following a March decision to deny Australian-born Assange permission to appeal against his extradition.
The extradition order must now be signed by Patel, after which Assange can try to challenge the decision by judicial review. A judicial review involves a judge examining the legitimacy of a public body's decision.
Assange, 50, is wanted in the United States on 18 criminal charges, including breaking a spying law, after WikiLeaks published thousands of secret U.S. files in 2010.
He denies any wrongdoing.
Assange has been in a southeast London jail since 2019, and before that was holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in the British capital for seven years.
UK judge sends extradition case of Wikileaks' Assange to interior minister Patel
Image: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
A British judge on Wednesday sent the case of Julian Assange to interior minister Priti Patel who will decide whether the Wikileaks founder should be extradited to the United States over the release of confidential US documents.
The procedural step, in what has been a long-running and high-profile legal battle, was announced at a hearing in central London following a March decision to deny Australian-born Assange permission to appeal against his extradition.
The extradition order must now be signed by Patel, after which Assange can try to challenge the decision by judicial review. A judicial review involves a judge examining the legitimacy of a public body's decision.
Assange, 50, is wanted in the United States on 18 criminal charges, including breaking a spying law, after WikiLeaks published thousands of secret U.S. files in 2010.
He denies any wrongdoing.
Assange has been in a southeast London jail since 2019, and before that was holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in the British capital for seven years.
READ MORE:
Credit Suisse financed Zim fraudster in deal that saved Mugabe
Bank of Spies: Credit Suisse catered to global intelligence figures
Assange has much to answer for as the Russian puppet who paved Trump's way into office
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
News and promos in your inbox
subscribeMost read
Latest Videos