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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's lawyers will lodge a bail application amid the outbreak of coronavirus in the UK. The 48-year-old is currently being held on remand in the maximum security Belmarsh prison near London, while he is locked in a legal battle against his extradition to the US. WikiLeaks says the Australian's lawyers will lodge a bail application in Woolwich Crown Court on Wednesday, arguing that he's vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic if he continues to be held in the prison. "Julian Assange falls into a category of persons who should be released to mitigate the impact of COVID-19," the organisation said in a statement on Monday. The Prison Officers Association confirmed last week that across the UK more than 100 staff and 75 prisoners were in isolation after showing coronavirus symptoms. At least one prisoner has tested positive in Manchester. The Prisoners Advice Service, a charity, asked the Ministry of Justice to release low-risk and elderly prisoners to protect staff and other inmates from the disease. Spain, the US and Iran have already released thousands of low-risk prisoners to stop the Covid-19 from spreading further and WikiLeaks said Assange's bail bid comes after the UK has failed to follow suit. Last month, Assange's bid to leave the dock and sit with his lawyers in court was knocked back by Judge Vanessa Baraitser. The US government is trying to extradite Assange to face 17 charges of violating the Espionage Act and one of conspiring to commit computer intrusion over the leaking and publishing of thousands of classified US diplomatic and military files. The charges carry a total of 175 years' imprisonment. Australian Associated Press

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