London CNN —A High Court judge in London has denied Julian Assange permission to appeal an order to extradite him to the United States, where he faces criminal charges under the Espionage Act. A London court issued a formal extradition order to send the Australian to the US in April last year; it was rubber-stamped by the UK government two months later. In January 2021, a UK judge rejected a request from the US to extradite Assange, ruling that such a move would be “oppressive” to his mental health. Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office described the latest court decision as “disappointing.” It said allowing the extradition “would set a dangerous precedent, threatening all our rights to freedom of expression” in a Twitter post. The reaction was similar from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) which said it was “deeply concerned” by the High Court decision against Assange which brings him “dangerously close” to being extradited.

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Persons: Julian Assange, Justice Swift, Assange, Vanessa Baraitser, Mr, Assange’s, Stella, Julian, ”, Chelsea Manning, “, Rebecca Vincent, Biden, Dominique Pradalié Organizations: London CNN, CNN, WikiLeaks, High, U.S ., Twitter, London’s Metropolitan Police, Eastern, of, Army, Department, High Court, Amnesty, Office, International, European, of Journalists, British Locations: London, United States, Belmarsh, of Virginia, Guantanamo