The Wikileaks founder is a champion of democracy – the charges against him affect journalists around the world Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was president of Brazil from 2002 to 2010 Mon 21 Sep 2020 15.46 BST Julian Assange is taken from court in London in May 2019. Julian Assange is taken from court in London in May 2019. Photograph: Matt Dunham/AP The British courts will soon be deciding the fate of the Australian journalist Julian Assange, a man who has been unjustly charged as a criminal. Assange committed no crime. He is a champion of the cause of freedom. The UK will say whether it will accept or deny the request for the extradition of Assange to the US, where he will face 18 charges brought against him by the government of that country. If he is extradited, Assange, 49, could be tried and sentenced to up to 175 years in prison, the equivalent of a life sentence.