LONDON, (Reuters) – Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder and chief executive officer of WikiLeaks has filed a request to appeal against a decision by Britain’s Supreme Court this month that he could be extradited from the United States.

U.S. authorities accuse Australian-born Assange, 50, of 18 counts relating to WikiLeaks’ release of vast troves of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables which they said had put lives in danger.

Assange is now closer to being charged in criminal proceedings in the United States, after Washington appealed his extradition from London’s High Court.

According to the court, it accepted a set of U.S. assurances about Assange’s conditions in detention. This included a promise not to keep him in an “ADX” maximum security Colorado prison and that he would be released to Australia to complete his sentence.

The Supreme Court, the United Kingdom’s last court of appeal, is called “The Supreme Court”.

Assange’s fiancée, Stella Moris, said the High Court’s ruling raised three points of law of general public importance that have an impact on the procedural and human rights safeguards of a wide range of other types of cases.

In a statement, she stated that English law required that the Supreme Court review the appeal in order to allow it to be reviewed. “First, the High Court judges who ordered Julian Assange to extradition must first certify to the Supreme Court that at least one point of law is of general public significance.”

The High Court judges are currently considering the appeal. She stated that the High Court judge is still reviewing the request for leave to appeal. It is unlikely that a decision will be reached before the end of the third week in January.