Extraditing Julian Assange would be a gift to secretive, oppressive regimes

‘It will become lethally dangerous to handle, let alone publish, documents from US government sources.’ Protesters in Rome urge the UK not to extradite Julian Assange. Photograph: Simona Granati/Corbis/Getty Images

In the course of the next few days, Priti Patel will make the most important ruling on free speech made by any home secretary in recent memory. She must resolve whether to comply with a US request to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges.

The consequences for Assange will be profound. Once in the US he will almost certainly be sent to a maximum-security prison for the rest of his life. He will die in jail.