A London court has ruled in favour of Julian Assange, embattled WikiLeaks founder, that he could now appeal his extradition to the United States. 

Mr Assange, 52, has been held in Belmarsh, one of Britain’s highest-security prisons, in southeastern London since 2019.

He also faces charges in the U.S. under the Espionage Act related to WikiLeaks’ publication of tens of thousands of secret military and diplomatic documents leaked to the site by Chelsea Manning, an army intelligence analyst, in 2010.

Monday’s ruling opened a new chapter in Mr Assange’s prolonged fight against the order in Britain’s courts as his fight against the extradition order has proceeded through the courts. 

Two High Court judges said they would allow an appeal to be heard on a limited number of issues.

In March, the judges said the court would grant a request to appeal unless the American government gave “a satisfactory assurance” that Mr Assange would be afforded protections under the U.S. Constitution and would not be “prejudiced by reason of his nationality.”

The U.S. Embassy in Britain provided assurances on those issues in a letter sent in April, but Mr Assange’s legal team had argued in court that they did not all go far enough to meet the court’s request.

Mr Assange entered the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in June 2012, where he stayed for seven years over fears that he could be arrested. 

He was eventually evicted from the embassy in 2019 and was promptly arrested.