London, September 8 (RHC)-- In Britain, the extradition hearing of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange resumed this week, after being delayed for months amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Julian Assange is wanted in the U.S. for exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan and faces a 175-year sentence on espionage and hacking charges.  As he arrived at the London courthouse, Assange was arrested on 18 new charges from a U.S. indictment filed in June. Legal observers say they were barred from the proceedings.

Protests took place in London and in cities around the world in defense of Assange and press freedom, demanding that he not be extradicted to the United States.

Julian Assange’s father, John Shipton, spoke to reporters as he left the courthouse on Monday.  He said: “I think the case is a fraud against the court.  That’s what I think: fraud against the court applied by the American Department of Justice.  Julian is an Australian citizen.  The publications are in the United Kingdom.  And yet he is kidnapped and judicially abducted to the United States to spend 175 years in jail.”