A U.K. court delays extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the U.S.

Julian Assange won't be heading to the United States — at least not immediately.

In a partial victory for the WikiLeaks founder, London's High Court on Tuesday delayed his extradition to the U.S., where he faces espionage charges for one of the biggest national security leaks in American history.

Assange's lawyers had asked the court to grant him one last appeal against his extradition.

The two-judge panel delayed a ruling on that. Instead, it gave the U.S. government three weeks to send assurances that Assange would get a fair trial and that he would not receive the death penalty if convicted. Otherwise, the judges wrote, an appeal may proceed.

"If those assurances are not given, then leave to appeal will be given and there will then be an appeal hearing," according to a summary of the judgment published on the U.K. judiciary's website.

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