Julian Assange was today too ill to appear in court for a US extradition hearing over hacking and espionage charges.

The Wikileaks founder is said to have suffered 'dramatic weightloss' and continued ill health since being jailed for 50 weeks for skipping bail back in 2012.

He has been moved to the hospital wing of Belmarsh prison amid 'grave concerns' for his health after spending seven years holed up in Ecuador's London embassy.

WikiLeaks said last night that his health had deteriorated so much that he is now incapable of even holding a conversation.

His lawyer Gareth Peirce appeared on behalf of Assange at Westminster Magistrates' Court today and said: 'He is not that well which we notified the court about.'

Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot replied: 'No he is not very well, it may be that the [next] hearing takes place at Belmarsh.

'It may be more convenient to everybody if it's there.'

Ms Peirce told the court that they have indicated that they may have an application, but did not specify in open court what it would be.

Ms Arbuthnot said: 'The Assange case will be held on June 12. There may be a day either side of that.'

Assange is also facing rape allegations, which he denies, after the case was reopened by prosecutors in Sweden earlier this month.

Julian Assange has reportedly been moved the hospital wing of HMP Belmarsh following a 'dramatic' loss of weight

Supporters today gathered outside Westminster Magistrates' Court holding banners that read: 'Hands off Assange'

Another supporter was dressed as a giant whistle in an orange prison uniform calling for protection of 'journalists, publishers whistle-blowers'

Other banners held aloft included 'Free Assange Jail War Criminals' and 'No to internet censorship'

The charges Assange faces in the US Julian Assange has been charged in the US with 17 violations of the Espionage Act for conspiring with former army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. A federal grand jury returned the indictment against him in Virginia earlier this month. Now, the 47-year-old WikiLeaks founder faces 170 years behind bars. Seventeen of the 18 charges are violations of the Espionage Act. They are: x 1 conspiracy to receive national defense information - (Espionage Act) x 8 obtaining national defense information - (Espionage Act) x 8 disclosure of national defense information - (Espionage Act) x 1 conspiracy to commit computer intrusion Maximum sentence: 170 years Advertisement

In a statement on his health, WikiLeaks said: 'WikiLeaks has grave concerns about the state of health of our publisher, Julian Assange, who has been moved to the health ward of Belmarsh prison.

'Mr Assange's health had already significantly deteriorated after seven years inside the Ecuadorian Embassy, under conditions that were incompatible with basic human rights.'

Wikileaks added: 'During the seven weeks in Belmarsh his health has continued to deteriorate and he has dramatically lost weight.

'The decision of prison authorities to move him to the ward speaks for itself.'

The statement added: 'Defence lawyer for Assange, Per Samuelson said that Julian Assange's health state last Friday was such 'that it was not possible to conduct a normal conversation with him.'

Speaking after the hearing today Bafta-winning documentary maker John Pilger, who described himself as a friend of Assange, said: 'He couldn't appear today because he was unwell.

'He's in the prison hospital. When I saw him a couple of weeks ago he wasn't very well then.

'But then he's been in an embassy in a confined space without natural light for almost seven years.

His move to the Belmarsh hospital wing comes just a day before the WikiLeaks founder (left, when he arrived at court in April, left, and in 2011, right) is due to appear in court for a hearing on his extradition to the United States to face espionage charges

Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange hold placards and a banners in protest outside Westminster Magistrates Court today

Supportes gathered outside the court in London today as Assange failed to appear amid concerns over his health

Assange (pictured with the white beard being hauled into a police van) was removed from he Ecuadorian embassy on April 11

'He needs a great deal of diagnostic care and rehabilitation. He's gone through an extraordinary physical and mental ordeal.

'And now he's having to go through this. This is so shameful, so shameful that we are even here today to consider the extradition of a journalist for trying to protect his sources.'

Mr Pilger described the case in Sweden as 'bogus'.

The US extradition request comes after authorities brought charges for hacking 750,000 classified documents.

Assange formally refused to consent to being extradited during a hearing which lasted a little over 10 minutes on May 2.

After he was booted out of the Ecuadorian Embassy last month, he was sentenced to 50 weeks in the Category A prison in Thamesmead (HMP Belmarsh pictured) for breaching his bail terms in 2012 to escape being extradited to Sweden for sexual offence charges

Last Thursday, the Trump administration ramped up extradition efforts by inditing Assange on espionage charges for publishing classified military documents.

Meanwhile, an investigation into rape allegations against Assange, which he denies, has been reopened by Swedish prosecutors who have requested Uppsala District Court detains him in his absence.

Deputy director of public prosecution Eva-Marie Persson said if the court decides to detain Assange, she 'will issue a European Arrest Warrant concerning surrender to Sweden'.

Woman who claims she was raped by Julian Assange 'hopes justice will win' after Swedish prosecutors re-opened sex attack case Swedish reopened the rape investigation into Julian Assange earlier this month. Prosecutors announced that they want to speak to the Wikileaks founder over allegations he raped a woman while in the country in 2010. Swedish authorities dropped the rape investigation in 2017 because they were unable to proceed while he remained holed up in London's Ecuadorian Embassy. They will now apply to extradite him from Britain. It means both Sweden and the US have competing claims to extradite Assange. After the decision was announced, lawyers for the Assange's alleged victim said her client 'hopes justice will win.' It means both Sweden and the US have competing claims to extradite Assange from the UK Deputy director of public prosecutions Eva-Marie Persson said 'There is still a probable cause to suspect that Assange committed a rape'. She added: 'It is my assessment that a new questioning of Assange is required.' She told how it is 'impossible to predict' which country he would be sent to first, and it is up to UK authorities to decide. With Assange's extradition to Sweden having already been passed by a British court, the US may now be forced to apply to Sweden to get hold of the Australian after he has faced court in Scandinavia. Advertisement

'In the event of a conflict between a European Arrest Warrant and a request for extradition from the US, UK authorities will decide on the order of priority,' she said.

Assange sought political asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012 after the leaks of hundreds of thousands of classified US diplomatic cables on his whistleblowing website.

He took refuge inside after exhausting all legal options in fighting extradition to Sweden over two separate claims, one of rape and one of molestation.

Also this month, the Ecuadorian government confirmed officials were searching through Assange's belongings left at its embassy following a request from the United States.

In a statement published online, the Ecuadorian government said the search was to identify and confiscate belongings of Assange that could offer clues to possible criminal activity.

The search was being carried out under the authorisation of a judge and following a request for judicial assistance from the US, the statement said.

Just days later, Assange was charged in the United States with receiving and publishing thousands of classified documents linked to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The US Justice Department has indicted Assange on 18 counts that relate to his 'alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States', it said.

He is accused of working with former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 'unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defence', a statement said.

The Justice Department said that by publishing unredacted versions of the leaked files, Assange put 'named human sources at a grave and imminent risk'.

After a federal grand jury returned the indictment, WikiLeaks swiftly issued a tweet describing the move as 'madness'.

Last week, Home Secretary Sajid Javid was urged by WikiLeaks to block Assange's extradition to the US in the name of press freedom.

The organisation said Mr Javid was under 'enormous pressure to protect the rights of the free press in the UK and elsewhere' after its founder was hit with the raft of new charges by the US Department of Justice.

Assange is serving a 50-week sentence in Belmarsh Prison in London for bail violations.

MailOnline has approached the Ministry of Justice for comment.