The UK's home secretary has signed a US request for Julian Assange to be extradited, ahead of a court hearing on the request tomorrow.
US authorities are seeking the WikiLeaks' founder extradition to face charges related to the publication of the documents which exposed evidence of war crimes carried out by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The US Justice Department claims the publication of thousands of secret and classified documents on the WikiLeaks website “risked serious harm” to US national security.
An 18-count indictment include charges accusing Mr Assange of conspiring with whistleblower Chelsea Manning to gain access to a government computer, and of conspiring to obtain and disclose national defence documents
Mr Assange's lawyer has labelled the charges against him a "threat" to all journalists, while WikiLeaks suggested the charges mark the "end of national security journalism and the first amendment".
47-year-old Mr Assange is currently detained in the UK, following his arrest at London's Ecuadorian Embassy in April.
He spent nearly seven years in the embassy after seeking refuge to avoid extradition to Sweden.
He is currently serving 50 weeks in jail for breaching his UK bail conditions.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4 today, the UK's Home Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed he'd signed an extradition request for Mr Assange ahead of a court hearing tomorrow.
Extradition requests have to be approved by a home secretary before being considered in the courts.
He said: “It is a decision ultimately for the courts, but there is a very important part of it for the home secretary and I want to see justice done at all times.
"We’ve got a legitimate extradition request so I’ve signed it, but the final decision is now with the courts.”
Chelsea Manning was previously convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking the files.
However her sentence was shortened to seven years by Barack Obama before he left the White House in 2017, and she was released shortly after.
Last month, she was jailed again for refusing to cooperate with a US grand jury.
