Home Secretary Priti Patel will decide whether Julian Assange will be extradited after magistrates formally issued an order to hand him over to the United States
If approved, it would see the WikiLeaks founder face espionage charges in the US after a protracted legal battle.
An extradition order was issued by chief magistrate Paul Goldspring during a seven-minute hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. The approval of the decision remains with Ms Patel.
Mr Assange is wanted in America in connection with the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
Mr Goldspring said: “In layman’s terms, I am duty bound to send your case to the Secretary of State for a decision.”
Outside the court, scores of supporters gathered, holding placards reading “Don’t extradite Assange”.
The extradition may yet be further delayed by an appeal.
Mr Assange, 50, watched the proceeding from HMP Belmarsh, a high-security men’s prison in south-east London.
He has been trying to halt extradition through the courts for years, however last month the UK's Supreme Court confirmed that Mr Assange's legal team could not appeal the extradition decision.
His legal team claimed the publication of classified documents exposed US wrongdoing and were in the public interest.
They said the prosecution was politically motivated and that he faces up to 175 years in jail.
Among the supporters outside the courtroom was former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who told those assembled: “He’s done absolutely no more than telling the truth to the world.
“We will carry on campaigning.”
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