Julian Assange has failed to delay legal proceedings which will see him extradited to the USA.
The Wikileaks founder appeared in court on Monday, October 21st, to fight the charges of espionage brought against him by US authorities.
He faces 18 counts including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law.
This includes an accusation that he schemed with fellow whistleblower Chelsea Manning to hack into classified government documents.
An order allowing the 48-year-old Australian to be extradited was signed in June by former Home Secretary, Sajid Javid.
“It is for the courts to decide what happens next.”
Lawyer Mark Summers, who represented Assange, said more time was required for such a many-faceted case, which will require a “mammoth” amount of planning and preparation.
Summers said: “Our case will be that this is a political attempt to signal to journalists the consequences of publishing information. It is legally unprecedented,”
“The American state has been actively engaged in intruding into privileged discussions between Mr. Assange and his lawyers in the embassy, also unlawful copying of their telephones and computers (and) hooded men breaking into offices.”
Summers also said the case said represents the Trump administration’s aggressive attitude toward whistleblowers.
Speaking earlier this year, former Minister of State for Europe and the Americas Sir Alan Duncan said: “It is absolutely right that Assange will face justice in the proper way in the UK. It is for the courts to decide what happens next.”
Assange reportedly raised a fist to his many supporters who watched proceedings from the public gallery in Westminster Magistrates Court, with former London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, among them.
The full extradition will take place in February 2020 at a court adjacent to Belmarsh Prison on the outskirts of London, where Assange is currently being held.
Assange claims he is a journalist entitled to First Amendment protection, which supports the freedom of the Press.