The UK’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court formally ruled on Wednesday that the power to extradite Julian Assange to the United States rests with UK Home Secretary Priti Patel. Patel will decide whether Assange will be extradited to the US for his prosecution. Beginning in 2012, Assange spent seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid trial for sexual assault in Sweden. He has been in custody at Belmarsh prison in the UK since 2019 during extradition proceedings launched against him by the US. According to US prosecutors, Assange published thousands of confidential US documents through of Wikileaks in 2010, making him guilty of espionage and conspiracy. The documents include allegations of war crimes and human rights violations, which Assange believes the public had a right to know about. he will sign an order for the extradition to take place. Assange’s lawyers have four weeks to present a case against extradition to Patel and will have the opportunity to seek judicial review of his decision. Last year, a lower court rejected the US extradition request that solitary confinement in the United States would create a serious risk of suicide. This decision was overturned by the higher court which found US assurances to treat Assange humanely credible. He was also denied permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. Advocates have urged Patel not to sign the order, citing fears that if he is extradited, Assange could face 175 years in prison on 18 counts. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) started a trend under #FreeAssange to prevent the Minister of the Interior from signing the order. Other politicians have spoken out since the decision, including former Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, saying Priti Patel bears a “huge responsibility” to protect free speech and journalism in the UK by freeing Assange.