But this next appeal by Assange will argue that he is being prosecuted for his political opinions, which, if accepted, would be in breach of the Extradition Act, which states that if it appears that an extradition is sought for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing a person on account of their political opinions then their extradition should barred.

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Assange will also argue that Patel erred in signing off on his extradition claiming it breached section 4 of the US-UK extradition act which says extradition must not be sought by either side for political offences.

Assange is charged with violating the Espionage Act when he coached Chelsea Manning how to hack into databases to steal hundreds of thousands of cables which WikiLeaks published in full, after initially publishing selected contents of the cables in partnership with mainstream media outlets.

The appeal marks a shift in his legal defence which had relied more heavily on his physical and mental health.

This claim was originally accepted by Baraitser but overturned on appeal.

Since then, YahooNews! has reported allegations that the Trump Administration floated ways to extract Assange from the US embassy, with the view of kidnapping or even killing him.

Assange’s wife Stella said High Court judges would now determine whether Assange will be granted an appeal hearing.

“Since the last ruling, overwhelming evidence has emerged proving that the United States prosecution against my husband is a criminal abuse,” she said in a statement.

“The High Court judges will now decide whether Julian is given the opportunity to put the case against the United States before open court, and in full, at the appeal,” Stella Assange said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously said he believes Assange should be freed but since winning the May election has declined to outline what entreaties he has made to US President Joe Biden, saying he would not do diplomacy via a “loud hailer”.

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