In what could be his final court hearing in England, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces an imminent decision on whether he will be extradited to the United States to face espionage charges. After a legal battle that has spanned over a decade, the outcome of Monday's hearing in London's High Court could determine Assange's future.

Assange, a 52-year-old Australian computer expert, has been indicted in the U.S. on 18 charges related to WikiLeaks' publication of classified documents in 2010. It is alleged that he conspired with former U.S. army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release confidential diplomatic cables and military files pertaining to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The charges against Assange include 17 counts of espionage and one charge of computer misuse. If convicted, he could face a prison term of up to 175 years. However, American authorities have indicated that any sentence is likely to be lower.

Assange and his supporters argue that he acted as a journalist, exposing U.S. military wrongdoing, and is therefore protected by press freedom under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Among the documents published by WikiLeaks was a video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad that resulted in the deaths of 11 people, including two Reuters journalists.

His wife, Stella Assange, asserts that Julian has been indicted for exposing evidence of war crimes committed by the U.S. government and that "reporting a crime is never a crime."

U.S. lawyers contend that Assange attempted to hack into a Pentagon computer, and WikiLeaks' publications posed a significant risk to American intelligence sources in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Assange's legal woes began in 2012 when he sought refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and was later granted political asylum. However, in 2019, after Ecuador withdrew his asylum status, he was arrested by British police for skipping bail in relation to a Swedish rape investigation. Although the Swedish authorities eventually dropped the investigation, Assange has since remained in London's high-security Belmarsh Prison pending the outcome of the extradition battle with the U.S.

The path to Assange's extradition was initially blocked by a London judge in 2021, citing concerns about his potential suicide in harsh American prison conditions. However, subsequent court rulings cleared the way for his extradition after U.S. authorities provided assurances of fair treatment while in custody.

The British government authorized Assange's extradition in 2022, leading his lawyers to raise nine grounds for appeal, including claims that the prosecution is politically motivated. The court accepted three of these arguments, with a provisional ruling in March stating that Assange could appeal to the Court of Appeal, subject to guarantees that he would not face the death penalty and would benefit from the same free speech protections as a U.S. citizen. These reassurances were provided by U.S. authorities three weeks later, although Assange's supporters remain skeptical, dismissing them as "weasel words."

As the High Court hearing approaches, Assange's legal team faces a pivotal moment. If he succeeds in this round, it could potentially prolong the case through an appeal process. On the other hand, if his appeal is rejected, his supporters fear that he could be transferred to the U.S. before the European Court of Human Rights could intervene.

The fate of Julian Assange, a figure whose actions have brought significant attention to the intersection of journalism, government transparency, and national security, hangs in the balance as the court prepares to make its judgment.