(Bloomberg) --
Julian Assange's extradition trial, set to begin next month, has been delayed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The three-week trial was due to begin May 18 in London, but was postponed until July or even November, because of the extension of the U.K. lockdown.
Assange faces extradition to America on charges that he conspired to disclose documents passed to him by former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. The 48-year-old has been in a London jail for a year since he was kicked out of the Ecuadorian embassy where he was hiding from Swedish sexual-assault allegations.
His lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald, said that trial preparations have been hamstrung by a prison ban on visitors during the lockdown.
If the hearing went ahead in May, Assange would “be facing a David and Goliath battle with his hands behind his back,” Fitzgerald said.
The delayed proceedings will actually be the second tranche of a four-week trial. The first week, in February, focused on legal arguments, while the remaining section will look at evidence, including the cross-examination of witnesses.
The U.K. extended lockdown by at least three weeks April 16. All non-urgent cases at Magistrates courts have been postponed and ongoing matters have been held via video link or teleconference.
The Australian didn't participate by video-link Monday as he was unwell, Fitzgerald told the court. Lawyers for the U.S. government agreed the case should be delayed.
The courts are grappling with proceedings while adhering to strict rules imposed by the government. At Monday's hearing, Assange's lawyer couldn't be heard and the judge's clerk had to repeat everything he said for the other participants.
The new trial date will be decided at a hearing May 4. The only available court date for three consecutive weeks is in November, but the case can be heard in July for two weeks, with the final week fit in later, Judge Vanessa Baraitser said.
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