Julian Assange has officially begun his fight to avoid extradition to the United States. The WikiLeaks founder told a London court Thursday that he will not voluntarily consent to being extradited to the U.S. to face charges related to the Chelsea Manning leaks. Speaking by video link from jail, Assange said, “I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that has won many awards and protected many people.” Assange was arrested in April after spending seven years inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. After the court hearing, Assange’s lawyer Jennifer Robinson warned that his extradition could put a massive chill on investigative journalism.

Jennifer Robinson: “Despite what you heard from the prosecutor in the courtroom today, 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. And any prosecution and extradition of Mr. Assange for having done so, or alleged to have done so, will place a massive chill on investigative journalism the world over.”