WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has appeared by video-link in a London court at the start of his battle against extradition to the United States. The 47-year-old Australian national is wanted in the US on computer hacking charges. The extradition hearings have been adjourned until the end of May. As Richard Bestic reports from the UK capital, the proceedings could last years.

To make their point, supporters of Julian Assange blocked the road outside the court where the case against him was being heard.

Assange they say is a journalist speaking truth to power and not as alleged by the United States a computer hacker stealing classified military secrets.

JENNIFER ROBINSON LAWYER FOR JULIAN ASSANGE "This case is not about hacking. This case is about a journalist and a publisher who had conversations with a source about accessing material; encouraged that source to provide material and spoke to that source about how to protect their identity. This is protected activity that journalists engage in all the time."

Included in a vast store of information downloaded and published by Assange is fatal US attack that killed civilians in Iraq in 2007.

This is the second court appearance of the week for the 47-year-old. On Wednesday sentenced to nearly a year's prison for jumping bail in 2012. At the time, wanted in Sweden in connection with allegations of sexual assault and rape.

Fearing onward extradition to the US, he instead chose seven years diplomatic immunity inside the cramped quarters of the Ecuadorian Embassy. A new government in Ecuador gave permission for Scotland Yard to enter the diplomatic space and arrest him.

Assange was taken to Belmarsh high-security prison, where he remains. His legal team argues, the case is politically motivated and he'd fail to get a fair trial if extradited to the US.

RICHARD BESTIC LONDON "This hearing could be just the beginning of a long legal haul for Julian Assange and his lawyers. There are some estimates that it could take years before a decision on his extradition is finally made and could even end up in the European Court of Human Rights. That is, if Britain after Brexit is still a member of the European Union. Richard Bestic, CGTN, Westminster Magistrate's Court, London."