WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. File photoMOSCOW, May 18Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović, in a letter to British Interior Minister Priti Patel, urged not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States. «I urge you to take a decision against Assange's extradition,» says the letter, dated May 10 but only published on the Council of Europe website on Wednesday.Assange's supporters staged a protest outside the British Home Office As Mijatović noted, the US allegations against Assange raised important questions about the protection of those who publish classified information in the public interest, including information about human rights violations. In her opinion, allowing Assange's extradition on this basis will have a deterrent effect on freedom of the media. On Tuesday, Assange's defense filed a motion with the UK Home Secretary to block his extradition to the United States. 175 years in prison. The final decision on extradition must be made by the UK Home Secretary.Assange's wife claims to have filed a motion to block his extraditionAssange rose to prominence in 2006 for his work on the WikiLeaks website, which was founded to publish classified documents. In 2010, the site released classified US military footage showing at least 18 civilians killed in the 2007 US helicopter attack in Baghdad. In 2010, the site also began publishing 250,000 US diplomatic documents. Assange, accused in Sweden in 2010 of sexual harassment and rape, has been hiding since June 2012 in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, fearing extradition. On the morning of April 11, 2019, he was detained at the request of the United States. Extradition hearings began on May 2, 2019. Shortly thereafter, the US authorities announced that they had filed new charges against Assange for 17 counts of violations of the espionage and disclosure of classified information law. Just now issued a warrant for the extradition of Assange
