Julian Assange lodges appeal against UK decision to extradite him to US

Wikileaks founder has spent four years in Belmarsh Prison in London after several years sheltering at the Ecuadorian embassy

Supporters of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange protest outside the Home Office in London a day before his birthday. PA

Julian Assange has lodged an appeal against a decision by the UK government to extradite him to the United States.

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel approved the extradition to the US last month, but an appeal application was submitted to the High Court on Friday.

Supporters staged protests ahead of his 51st birthday on Saturday.

His wife Stella was among the many people who gathered outside the Home Office in central London on Friday to step up calls for the WikiLeaks founder to be released from prison.

He will spend his birthday in Belmarsh Prison in London while a lengthy legal battle continues over whether he can be extradited.

The Australian has been at the centre of a protracted legal fight for more than a decade.

Julian Assange through the years - in pictures

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court after he was arrested in London in April 2019. Reuters

Mr Assange on the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, in May 2017. Reuters

The WikiLeaks founder shakes hands with Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino after a press conference, at which he confirmed he "will be leaving the embassy soon", in August 2014. Getty Images

Mr Assange prepares to speak from the balcony of Ecuador's embassy in August 2012. Reuters

He covers his eyes during a news conference in central London, in December 2011. AP Photo

Mr Assange arrives at the High Court in London in December 2011. Getty Images

Protesters cheer as Mr Assange, centre, speaks outside St Paul's Cathedral during the 'Occupy London' protest in October 2011. Getty Images

Wearing an ankle tag, Mr Assange at the house where he was required to stay in Suffolk, England, in June 2011. AP Photo

Mr Assange arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court in a prison van with red windows in December 2010. Getty Images

He holds up a copy of 'The Guardian' newspaper in London in July 2010, after WikiLeaks published 90,000 secret US military records. Getty Images

The Australian is photographed for a portrait in May 2010 in Melbourne. Getty Images

A young Julian Assange leaves a Melbourne court after facing charges of computer hacking in May 1995. Getty Images

Mr Assange is wanted by American authorities over documents leaked in 2010 and 2011 related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

He has been in prison since he was dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2019, where he had been living since 2012.

When the Home Office announced the extradition decision in June, his wife pledged to fight the decision with “every available avenue”, saying: “I’m going to use every waking hour fighting for Julian until he is free.”

She said her husband had told her recently that he planned to kill himself if he was extradited.