Assange to seek asylum in France, lawyers say

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange‘s European defense team has said it intends to seek political asylum in France for the whistleblower. Assange’s US extradition trial is set to begin on Monday in London.
“We consider the situation is sufficiently serious that our duty is to talk about it” with French president Emmanuel Macron,” Assange’s French lawyer said, adding that “France is the homeland of human rights”.
In 2015, the French government denied Assange’s asylum request, after he asked then-president Francois Hollande for refugee status. At the time, France said Assange’s situation did not “present an immediate danger”.
Last April, Assange was arrested in London, after being evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy where he had spent more than seven years, in an attempt to avoid extradition to Sweden over rape allegations. His lawyers said they feared for his life, over alleged human rights violations in prison.
Assange is aiming to avoid an extradiction to the US, where he is facing 18 counts. 17 of them are under the Espionage Act. If extradited in the US, he could face up to 175 years in jail.