Julian Assange cannot lawfully be extradited to the United States to face charges relating to WikiLeaks due to his mental health and suicide risks, a judge has ruled.

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser pointed to the isolated conditions Assange would likely face in the United States, saying that in the context of his mental health, this meant extradition would be "oppressive", the Independent reports.

However, Assange will be kept in custody, she said, ahead of an expected appeal from the United States.

According to the BBC, 49-year-old Assange is wanted in the US over the publication of thousands of classified documents in 2010 and 2011. The US says that the leaks broke the law and endangered lives.

Julian Assange [[imagecaption|| Credit: PA Images]]

US authorities have said that the decision will be appealed, the BBC reports.

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled that while prosecutors in the United States had met the tests for Assange to be extradited, the US was not capable of preventing him from taking his own life.

"The overall impression is of a depressed and sometimes despairing man fearful for his future." She said.

Assange [[imagecaption|| Credit: PA Images]]

"Faced with the conditions of near total isolation without the protective factors which limited his risk at HMP Belmarsh, I am satisfied the procedures described by the US will not prevent Mr Assange from finding a way to commit suicide and for this reason I have decided extradition would be oppressive by reason of mental harm and I order his discharge."

Mr Assange's lawyers have said that he faces the possibility of up to a 175-year prison sentence if he is convicted in the United States. However, the US government said that the sentence was more likely to be between four and six years.

He was jailed for 50 weeks back in May 2019 for breaching the conditions of his bail when he went into hiding inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Julian Assange's extradition to the United States blocked by judge over mental health and suicide risk