Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has told a London court he will fight a US extradition request on conspiracy charges because he had only engaged in award-winning journalism that protected people.
Appearing at Westminster Magistrates on Thursday via video link from Belmarsh prison, his next procedural court appearance is set for May 30.
The US accuses the 47-year-old of directing the former solider and intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer system. He could face five years in jail but is likely to wage a lengthy battle to stop his extradition
Dozens of demonstrators stood outside the court holding placards in support of Assange, protesting his potential deportation and calling for the Australian to be freed.
Assange told the court he did not want to surrender himself for extradition “for doing journalism that has won many awards protected many people”.
"The full extradition hearing I suspect is still many months away," District Judge Michael Snow said at Thursday’s hearing.
"The charge relates to one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States," said Ben Brandon, the lawyer representing the United States.
It comes a day after Assange was given a 50-week jail sentence for breaching bail conditions in 2012 by residing at the Ecuadorian embassy in London until April 2019.
It came after separate extradition request in 2012 by Swedish authorities over sexual assault charges.
The judge at the bail case said his actions had cost British taxpayers £16 million (Dh 76.7m).
Ecuador withdrew his political asylum last month and invited UK police into the embassy to arrest Assange.
Lenin Moreno, the president of Ecuador, had accused Assange of using the London embassy as a base from which to spy. During his seven-year stay the Wikileaks founder was accused of poor hygiene and video footage was leaked of him trying to skateboard across a room.
