A British court Thursday ordered Wikileaks founder Julian Assange extradited to Sweden to face sex charges. His attorneys immediately said they would appeal the decision, a process which could take months.
The Australian reported that Assange, 39, “showed no emotion when the judge issued his verdict.”
Assange is being sought for questioning in Sweden on rape and coercion allegations stemming from sexual relations he had with two women in that country last August. One woman has claimed that Assange pinned her down to have sex with her and intentionally tore a condom he wore. The second woman claims that he had sex with her while she was initially asleep, failing to wear a condom despite repeated requests for him to do so. Assange has disputed their claims.
He was arrested in the UK on December 7. That was nine days after WikiLeaks began publishing from its cache of more than 250,000 leaked U.S. State Department diplomatic cables, which were trickling out at a rate of about a hundred a day. Nine days after that, Assange was released from jail on $300,000 bond.
While wanted for questioning, Assange has not been charged in Sweden with a crime and has denied any wrongdoing.
He has been living under house arrest in the large country estate of Vaughan Smith, whom The Guardian has described as “a former army officer, journalist adventurer and rightwing libertarian.” After Thursday’s ruling, the Court continued to allow Assange to remain free on bond under the same conditions, which include wearing an electronic ankle bracelet, reporting to police every evening in person and honoring a curfew.
Defense attorneys have claimed that Assange would not get a fair trial in Sweden, since rape trials in that country are sometimes held behind closed doors. They have also argued that Assange could somehow find himself extradited to the United States, where, they theorize, he could face execution for leaking secrets.
Judge Howard Riddle, however, avoided the larger overtones of the Assange situation and ruled narrowly.
“I have specifically considered whether the physical or mental condition of the defendant is such that it would be unjust or oppressive to extradite him,” Riddle told London’s top-security Belmarsh Magistrates’ Court. “I am satisfied that extradition is compatible with the defendant’s (European) Convention rights, I must order Mr. Assange be extradited to Sweden.”
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