Assange protest live outside Westminster Court.
Assange to appear via videolink from Belmarsh @ 10am London time (BST GMT).
In just a few.
BREAKING: Julian Assange will not face a full extradition hearing until next year, court hears. Five day hearing to be listed on a date after Feb 24.
https://twitter.com/kirkkorner/status/1139475790440124416
@kirkkorner
Courts correspondent for London Evening Standard. @standardnews
Confirmed.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who had a scraggly white beard, told a court '"175 years of my life is effectively at stake"'
Julian Assange will stay in jail for EIGHT MONTHS before extradition hearing
Julian Assange will face a full extradition hearing next year over computer hacking allegations as part of a US investigation into WikiLeaks.
The hearing will begin on February 25, 2020, and is expected to last five days.
WikiLeaks founder Assange, 47, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London via video link on Friday, a day after Home Secretary Sajid Javid revealed he had signed the US extradition request.
Assange, who had a scraggly white beard, told the court: "175 years of my life is effectively at stake."
Addressing the judge as "Lady Arbuthnot", he defended his website against hacking claims, saying: "WikiLeaks is nothing but a publisher."
Assange is serving a 50-week prison sentence after being dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in April and jailed for a bail violation.
An investigation has also been reopened into an allegation of rape in Sweden, which Assange has always denied.
The court also heard that he has a date at the Court of Appeal, with his legal team later explaining he is to appeal against his sentence.
Ben Brandon, representing the US, formally opened the case and said: "This is related to one of the largest compromises of confidential information in the history of the United States."
Mark Summers QC, representing Assange, told the court there are a "multiplicity of profound issues" with the extradition case.
"We say it represents an outrageous and full-frontal assault on journalistic rights," he said.
Assange is accused by US authorities of conspiring to hack US government computers and violating an espionage law.
He had skipped bail and bled to the Ecuadorian embassy seven years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden for questioning in a sexual assault investigation.
A small group of protesters gathered outside the central London court ahead of the hearing.
The crowd of around a dozen supporters held banners, including one with the message "Free Assange", as journalists from national and international publications queued to get into the court.
Some protesters chanted "justice for Julian Assange" and "Defend freedom and democracy".
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I am very pleased that the police were finally able to apprehend him and now he's rightly behind bars because he broke UK law.
"There is an extradition request from the US… I signed the extradition order and certified it and that will be going in front of the courts."
On Thursday, Mr Javid said he had signed and certified an extradition order on Wednesday, although the final decision rests with the courts.
He said it was a decision for the courts over whether Assange should be extradited.
Mr Javid added: "There is a very important part of it for the Home Secretary and I want to see justice done at all times and we've got a legitimate extradition request so I've signed it but the final decision is now with the courts."
A Home Office spokesman said: "Mr Assange was arrested in relation to a provisional extradition request from the United States of America.
"He is accused of offences including computer misuse and the unauthorised disclosure of national defence information.
"We have received the full extradition request, which has been certified by the Home Secretary.
"This case is now before the courts and it would be inappropriate to comment further."
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breaking-julian-assange-stay-jail-16516218
Addressing the judge as "Lady Arbuthnot", he defended his website against hacking claims, saying: "WikiLeaks is nothing but a publisher."
JUDGE EMMA ARBUTHNOT, wife of BARON JAMES ARBUTHNOT - spook
Arbuthnot’s husband - and ex-Conservative MP - Baron James Arbuthnot is listed as a former director of Security Intelligence Consultancy SC Strategy Ltd. The other two listed directors are former Head of MI6, Sir John Scarlett and Lord Carlile.
Sauce: https://www.rt.com/uk/418820-wikileaks-julian-assange-judge/