Assange’s extradition trial a test for press freedom, rights groups say

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has emerged as one of the most controversial whistleblowers of recent times, hailed by his supporters as a fearless campaigner for press freedom and denounced by his detractors as reckless, self-aggrandising and even dangerous. But on Monday Assange could be extradited from the UK to the US for crimes of espionage and for leaking classified documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in a trial critics say is a test case for press freedom.