WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange Wouldn’t Go to Supermax if Extradited, U.S. Says

The U.S. government has given assurances to the U.K. that Julian Assange wouldn’t be held under the strictest maximum-security conditions if extradited to the U.S., a concession aimed toward resolving Washington’s yearslong battle to place the WikiLeaks founder unproved on espionage charges.

The U.S. has also assured British authorities that Mr. Assange, if convicted, would be permitted to serve any jail time in his native Australia, consistent with excerpts of a court ruling provided by the U.K. Crown Prosecution Service, the general public prosecutor’s office for England and Wales.

A U.K. court on Wednesday formally allowed a U.S. government appeal against a January ruling blocking Mr. Assange’s extradition. No date for a hearing has yet been set.

A British judge in January refused to grant a U.S. request to extradite Mr. Assange on the grounds that he would likely kill if incarcerated during a federal maximum-security, or “Supermax,” prison and subjected to added security measures, like solitary , which are common pretrial arrangements in national-security cases.

The U.S. has given the U.K. a package of assurances that Mr. Assange won’t be held at ADX, a maximum-security federal penitentiary in Colorado, or subjected to extra security measures, consistent with the excerpts of the ruling, potentially removing a key impediment to his potential extradition.