Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks took asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012 to dodge extradition to Sweden. A few days ago, Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks of jail time by British authorities.

In 2010, Assange was charged with sexual misconduct by Swedish authorities and turned himself in to British police to avoid them. He was released on bail and sought the Ecuador Embassy for protection.

The investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct was closed in 2017, but he was arrested for breaking the bail conditions set of British prosecutors in December of 2010, after the embassy expelled him from their charge, ending a seven year period of protection.

British authorities commented that his arrest was also made on behalf of the United States, who sought him for releasing a large number of documents pertaining to American diplomacy regarding wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with other leaks of sensitive material.

With this, the United States has requested that Assange be extradited after he has served his 50 week sentence in a Belmarsh prison. Assange denied consent to this, and his lawyer delivered a speech to the public on his behalf.

“Tomorrow is the big fight, the start of the big and most important fight: to fight against the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States,” Assange’s lawyer and WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson said.

He went on to condemn the actions against Assange by the governments of various nations seeking him.

“What is at stake there could be a question of life and death for Mr. Assange, Hrafnsson said. “It is also a question of life and death for a major journalistic principle.”