The UK Supreme Court on Monday refused an extradition appeal for free speech activist Julian Assange.

It brings him one step closer to being extradited to the US, where he is likely to face espionage charges.

The whistleblower is accused of publishing secret documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and could be sentenced to up to 175 years for breaking US espionage laws.

His organization Wikileaks said his fate now lay in the hands of the UK’s conservative Home Secretary Priti Patel.