WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is "dangerously close" to being extradited to the United States after another court appeal was rejected, his family said.

His lawyers say they will appeal again to the same court, amid fears he could spend the rest of his life in prison for releasing several thousand classified military and diplomatic documents.

In a three-page ruling released on Tuesday, UK High Court Judge Jonathan Swift dismissed all eight counts of Assange's appeal against extradition to the US, which was signed by then-British Police Minister Priti Patel in June last year.

However, Stella Assange, Julian's wife, said her husband would prepare a renewed appeal to the higher court as early as next week, after which the case would be brought before two new judges for a public hearing.

"We are still optimistic, we believe that we will win and that Julian will not be extradited to the United States where he faces charges that could put him in prison for the rest of his life, in a maximum security prison, for reporting true information about the crimes. of the American government," said Stella Assange.

Assange's father, John Shipton, said his son's grounds for a new hearing were "clear, firm and fair".

Assange's appeal alleges that Patel, as minister, erred in her decision to grant extradition because the request violates an agreement between the United States and Great Britain, which states that "extradition shall not be granted if the offense for which extradition is sought is a political offense." .
Assange's legal team is adamant that the American desire to get to Assange is politically motivated.

The complaint also states that Assange's prosecution is a violation of the guaranteed freedom of speech and that the extradition request is an abuse of the judicial process in Great Britain.

Assange's legal team also pointed out that the US government has persistently misinterpreted the essential facts of the case before the British court.

Judge Swift's decision leaves the final step to the British courts: the defense has five working days to submit a 20-page appeal to a two-judge panel, which will hold a public hearing.
After that, he no longer has the right to appeal in Britain, but Assange could still fight extradition at the European Court of Human Rights, which last December confirmed that an appeal had been received by Assange.

Otherwise, Assange is facing 18 counts of indictment for publishing classified documents by WikiLeaks, which were the result of leaks by former US military intelligence officer Chelsea Manning.

She was sentenced to 35 years in prison, but was released after being pardoned by Barack Obama in 2017. If convicted, Assange faces a combined sentence of up to 175 years in prison.
He has currently been in Britain's Belmarsh prison for over four years.