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Julian Assange Loses Extradition Case, Plans to Appeal

by Amar Toor on February 24, 2011 at 09:52 AM

julian assangeA British judge has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange must be extradited to Sweden to be questioned on accusations of sexual abuse. The decision, which was issued this morning in London, means that the Australian national will be sent to Sweden in ten days, although his lawyers have already indicated that they plan to file an appeal.

In the ruling, Judge Howard Riddle determined that the allegations against Assange qualified as extraditable offenses, and that the warrant for his questioning was issued on legitimate grounds. Assange has long denied the accusations, which were brought by two different women, and has stated his fears that he may be extradited to the U.S. upon arriving in Sweden.

His attorney, Geoffrey Robertsen, added that Assange would not receive a fair trial in Sweden, where he is widely perceived as "public enemy number one," despite having yet to officially face criminal charges. Robertsen fought the decision on procedural grounds as well, claiming that Swedish prosecutors have already leaked too many details on the case.

Riddle, however, dismissed Assange's defense, saying that, if there have been any irregularities in the Swedish judicial process, "the right place for these to be examined and remedied is in the Swedish trial system."

Tags: court, crime, extradition, JulianAssange, law, politics, SexualAbuse, sweden, top, trial, uk, Web, Wikileaks

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