Julian Assange could be extradited to the United States on the basis of a new British court ruling issued early Friday, according to numerous reports from news agencies in London. 
The court of first instance ruled in January that Assange could not be extradited to the US because he would likely face torture in the US penitentiary system and risk suicide.
The WikiLeaks co-founder faces 17 charges in the United States, first filed by President Donald Trump's Department of Justice, including computer piracy and breach of the 1917 espionage law. The charges could carry him up to 175 years in prison. .
The judge of the first court, Vanessa Baraitser, pointed out that Assange will most likely face isolation, a punishment that most countries in the developed world consider torture.
"Mr Assange is facing the bleak prospect of severely restrictive detention facilities designed to remove physical contact and reduce social interaction with the outside world to a minimum. "She treats these prospects like someone with a diagnosis of clinical depression and persistent suicidal thoughts," Judge Vanessa Baraitser said in her ruling.
However, the court of appeals disagreed, supporting the argument of the US Department of Justice that Assange is not so mentally ill that he would be forced to commit suicide.
But the United States has vowed that Assange will not face torture and has said he could serve any prison sentence in his native Australia.
"Julian's life is threatened once again, as is the right of journalists to publish material that governments and companies find uncomfortable," said Kristinn Hrafnsson, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief.
