Assange too ill to attend last-ditch court bid against extradition, lawyer says

Summary

1. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is making a final bid to appeal his extradition from the UK to the US in the High Court in London
2. Assange, who is not appearing in court because of illness, has been in a UK prison since 2019 and is wanted by the US for disclosing secret military files in 2010 and 2011
3. In 2021, the UK High Court ruled that he should be extradited, dismissing claims that his poor mental health meant he might take his own life in a US jail
4. In 2022, the Supreme Court upheld that decision and then-Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed the extradition order
5. In today's hearing, Assange is seeking permission to review Priti Patel's decision and challenge the original 2021 court ruling
6. If he fails, Assange will have exhausted all appeal routes in the UK and will enter the process of extradition
7. He says the case against him is politically motivated and his lawyers have suggested they will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights if the appeal is turned down