WikiLeaks founder Assange starts final legal battle to avoid extradition to U.S.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is shown making a statement to the media gathered outside the High Court in London, Dec. 5, 2011. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)

LONDON — Julian Assange's lawyers will begin their final U.K. legal challenge on Tuesday to stop the WikiLeaks founder from being sent to the United States to face spying charges.

The 52-year-old has been fighting extradition for more than a decade, including seven years in self-exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and the last five years in a high-security prison.