A court in the United Kingdom has issued a formal order to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face trial over the publication of secret files relating to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The extradition order was issued by the chief magistrate Paul Goldspring at the Westminster magistrates court on Wednesday. 

“In layman’s terms, I am duty-bound to send your case to the secretary of state for a decision,” Mr Goldspring said.

The final decision now lies with British Home Secretary Priti Patel, although Mr Assange has the right to appeal within 14 days of any decision to approve the extradition.

In March, the Supreme Court denied Mr Assange the permission to appeal against a decision to extradite him to the United States to face his charges. The court said that the application did not raise an arguable point of law.  

Mr Assange’s extradition request was initially dismissed by a British district court judge last December on the grounds that he was likely to kill himself if held under U.S. prison conditions despite assurances.

Mr Assange’s Wikileaks published thousands of classified documents between 2010 and 2011, supplied by U.S. Army Intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. These documents included private military records and diplomatic cables.

Mr Assange stands to face up to 175 years in prison if found guilty.