Julian Assange is to make his final bid for an appeal against a UK judge’s ruling over his extradition to the US.
The WikiLeaks founder is wanted in the US over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information after the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
Here is a timeline of the key dates in the WikiLeaks founder’s legal cases over the past 14 years:
2010
31 August: Swedish police question Assange about two separate allegations – one of rape and one of molestation – which he denies.
18 November: An international arrest warrant is issued so Assange can be questioned on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion.
7 December: Assange presents himself to police in London and is remanded in custody after a hearing.
16 December: He is later granted conditional bail at the high court, bankrolled by his supporters who pay £240,000.
2011
2 November: Assange loses an appeal to extradite him to Sweden; a judge denies it would violate his human rights.
2012
19 June: Assange enters the Ecuadorian embassy in London, requesting political asylum. Scotland Yard confirms he is subject to arrest for breaching his bail conditions.
16 August: He is granted political asylum by Ecuador.
19 August: Assange emerges on the Ecuadorian embassy’s balcony and calls for the US government to “renounce its witch hunt” against WikiLeaks.
20 December: He again appears to say “the door is open” for talks to avoid extradition to Sweden.
2013
18 June: Assange tells journalists he will not leave the embassy even if sex charges against him are dropped, due to fears he will be extradited to the US.
2014
16 July: A judge in Stockholm upholds the arrest warrant against him for alleged sexual offences against two women. He later loses an appeal.
2015
13 March: Swedish prosecutors ask to question him at the embassy.
13 August: Investigations into the molestation allegation are dropped due to time restrictions. The investigation into suspected rape remains active.
16 August: The UK Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire says Ecuador’s decision to harbour Assange in its embassy has prevented the proper course of justice. He restates the UK’s legal obligation to extradite him to Sweden.
12 October: The Metropolitan police end their three-year long, 24-hour guard outside the embassy. It is estimated to have cost more than £12m.
2016
5 February: The UN working group on arbitrary detention says Assange is being “arbitrarily detained”, and calls on authorities to end his “deprivation of liberty”. The following month, the UK government asks for a review, saying the opinion was “deeply flawed” – this is later rejected.
20 June: Ecuador reveals the Swedish authorities have officially requested to interview Assange.
9 August: Assange files an appeal to a Swedish court, arguing the country must comply with the UN working group’s findings.
14 November: Assange is questioned over the remaining sex allegation at the Ecuadorian embassy by Swedish authorities in a two-day interview.
2017
17 January: Barack Obama’s decision to free the whistleblower Chelsea Manning prompts speculation Assange will end his self-imposed exile.
19 January: Assange tells a press conference that he stands by his offer to go to the US, provided his rights are respected.
9 March: The former Ukip leader Nigel Farage is spotted leaving the embassy.
21 April: The then US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, says Assange’s arrest is a priority for the US.
19 May: Swedish authorities suddenly drop the investigation into an allegation of rape.
2018
11 January: The UK Foreign Office turns down a request from the Ecuadorian government to grant Assange diplomatic status. Ecuador confirms it granted citizenship to Assange in December at his request.
13 February: Westminster magistrates court upholds Assange’s arrest warrant for skipping bail. A judge urges him to show the “courage” to appear in court.
28 March: The Ecuadorian embassy suspends Assange’s internet access, complaining he interfered with other states’ affairs.
9 August: The US Senate committee asks to interview Assange as part of its investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
19 October: Assange accuses Ecuador of violating his “fundamental rights and freedoms”.
16 November: The US Department of Justice inadvertently names Assange in a court document, suggesting he may have been charged in secret.
2019
23 January: Lawyers for Assange say they are taking action aimed at making President Donald Trump’s administration reveal “secretly filed” charges.
5 April: There are conflicting reports over whether Assange is to be expelled from the embassy.
11 April: Assange is arrested at the embassy in London after his diplomatic status is revoked.
1 May: Assange is sentenced to 50 weeks’ imprisonment by Southwark crown court. He continues to be held on remand in Belmarsh from September after serving the custodial sentence.
19 May: Swedish authorities resume their investigation into the alleged rape.
19 November: The alleged rape investigation is discontinued.
2020
24 February: Assange faces an extradition hearing at Woolwich crown court, where his representatives argue he cannot legally be handed to the US for “political offences” because of a 2003 extradition treaty.
25 March: Assange appears via video link at Westminster magistrates court, where he is refused bail amid the coronavirus crisis.
24 June: The US Department of Justice issues an updated 18-count indictment over Assange’s alleged role in “one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States”.
7 September: Assange’s extradition hearing resumes at the Old Bailey.
2021
4 January: A judge at the Old Bailey rules that Assange cannot be extradited to the US.
6 January: Assange is refused bail at Westminster magistrates court as the US government appeals against the decision to block his extradition.
11 August: The US government is allowed by the high court to expand the basis of its appeal against the judge’s decision not to extradite Assange.
10 December: The US government wins its high court appeal to overturn the judge’s decision not to extradite Assange.
23 December: Assange’s lawyers start the process towards a supreme court appeal over his extradition to the US.
2022
24 January: Assange wins the first stage of his supreme court appeal bid against a decision to allow his extradition to the US.
14 March: Assange is denied permission to appeal against the high court’s decision in December 2021 to extradite him to the US, the supreme court confirms.
23 March: Assange marries Stella Moris at Belmarsh Prison in a private ceremony lasting around three hours, with six guests including the couple’s two young sons and Assange’s father, John Shipton.
20 April: Westminster magistrates court formally issues an extradition order, meaning then home secretary, Priti Patel, is responsible for deciding whether to approve the extradition, with two months to make her decision.
17 June: Patel signs the extradition order.
1 July: Assange lodges an appeal against the extradition in the high court.
22 August: Assange’s legal team lodge a “perfected grounds of appeal” before the high court, challenging district judge Vanessa Baraitser’s decision of 4 January 2021 with new evidence.
2023
6 June: Assange’s application to appeal is refused with Mr Justice Swift stating that “none of the four grounds of appeal raises any properly arguable point.” In a separate ruling, the high court judge also denies Assange permission to appeal a ruling by district judge Vanessa Baraitser in January 2021.
13 June: Assange’s team lodge a renewed appeal with the high court.
19 December: Assange’s team confirm next appeal hearing will take place in February 2024.
2024
15 February: Stella Assange tells reporters if Assange loses latest bid he will apply to the European court of human rights for a rule 39 order to stop an extradition, as well as a full application.
20 February: Assange’s appeal hearing begins at the Royal Courts of Justice.
