Julian Assange could serve sentence in Australia, U.S. assures Britain

The United States has assured Britain that if it extradites WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, he would be able to serve any sentence imposed on him by a US court in Australia, the country of his birth, a legal document showed on Wednesday.

The United States is appealing against a decision by a British judge that Assange should not be extradited because he would be at high risk of committing suicide in a US prison.

"The United States has also provided an assurance that the United States will consent to Mr Assange being transferred to Australia to serve any custodial sentence imposed on him," said a document presented to the Court of Appeal in London by lawyers acting for the US government.