The US has challenged a British judge’s decision not to extradite Assange which was made last year based on his mental health. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser said the court trusted the US would protect Assange's right to free speech and noted his dealings with Ms Manning "went beyond the mere encouragement of a journalist" but refused to extradite him on the grounds he would be a high suicide risk in US custody. Assange faces an 18-count indictment in the US with conspiracy to commit computer hacking and plotting to obtain and release classified information.

       The charges come after he published hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, provided by US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.

       The US claims these leaks were politically motivated and the unredacted classified information put the lives of US sources in danger.

       Assange’s team say that the publication of said classified documents exposed American wrongdoing and were therefore in the public interest.

       READ MORE: Julian Assange pleaded with Snowden to go 'where CIA has no influence'

       The WikiLeaks founder has also denied informants were put in harm's way or that he plotted hacking with his source Ms Manning.

       The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison if he is convicted on all counts.

       Supporters of Assange, who argue freedom of speech should protect him from the US state, have planned to gather en masse outside the courts today with furious protests expected to erupt.

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