Julian Assange US extradition: UK judge to give verdict early next year

A British judge said on Thursday that she would give her decision on extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to US early next year. In the US, Assange may face charges including espionage. Assange faces accuasations from US authorities of conspiring to hack government computers and violating espionage law in connection with the release of confidential cables. These cables were leaked by Wikileaks in 2010-2011.

Assange's lawyer say that the charges against the Australian-born are politically motivated. They also say that Assange's mental health is at risk and that conditions of US prisons are in violation of Britain's human rights laws. They also allege that Julian Assange and his lawyers were spied on while he was in Ecuaorian embassy in the UK.

The legal team representing the United States have countered that many of those arguments are issues which should be addressed in a trial, and have no bearing on extradition.

Judge Vanessa Baraitser told London`s Old Bailey Court at the conclusion of hearings from witnesses in the case that she would deliver her verdict on January 4.

(With Reuters inputs)