British court rules Julian Assange extradition on pause until US guarantees no death penalty

The British High Court on Tuesday ruled that the U.S. cannot extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on espionage charges unless American officials assure that he will not face the death penalty for his alleged crimes and will receive First Amendment protections.

"If assurances are not given then we will grant leave to appeal without a further hearing," Judge Victoria Sharp said. "If assurances are given then we will give the parties an opportunity to make further submissions before we make a final decision on the application for leave to appeal."