WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange still faces arrest in UK as bid to have warrant dropped fails
Assange’s team entered a second, public-interest defence immediately after the ruling – but a decision on that will not come until February 13
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is likely to remain trapped in the Ecuadorean embassy in London where he has been holed up for over five years after a UK court refused to drop a warrant for his arrest on Tuesday.
However, Assange’s legal team immediately began a separate argument that the British authorities should stop pursuing him for breaching bail terms because it was not in the public interest. A ruling on that is scheduled for February 13.
Assange, 46, fled to the embassy, located in a flat in the wealthy district of Knightsbridge, to avoid extradition to Sweden to face an allegation of rape, which he denied. The Swedish case has since been dropped.
Ecuador president: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a ‘problem’
He has said he feared Sweden would hand him over to the United States to face prosecution over WikiLeaks’ publication of leaked US military and diplomatic documents.
To his supporters, Australian-born Assange is a cyber hero who exposed government abuses of power. To his critics, he is a criminal who undermined the security of the West and endangered lives in many countries by exposing secrets.
His supporters say his health has deteriorated significantly during his years living in the embassy, and the London court heard he had suffered depression, dental and shoulder problems.