WikiLeaks' Assange loses extradition appeal

LONDON?? WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange lost his appeal on Wednesday against extradition to Sweden to answer sex crime allegations.

Judges John Thomas and Duncan Ousely said that Assange, who was in London's High Court to hear the verdict, should be sent to Sweden to be questioned over the alleged rape of one woman and the molestation of another in Stockholm last year.

The 40-year-old has denied wrongdoing, and insists the case is politically motivated by those opposed to the work of his secret-spilling organization.

Assange's lawyers said they would appeal the verdict at Britain's Supreme Court, the BBC reported. They have 14 days to do so.

Following the judgment Assange emerged from the High Court and delivered a brief statement before a large crowd of journalists.

He said he was considering his next steps in the days ahead but did not elaborate further. He also slammed the amount of spin surrounding his case.

Assange pointed people to the website swedenversusassange.com "if [they] really want to know what's going on in this case."

'Serious sexual offenses'
The case has cast a shadow over Assange and his whistle-blowing website which published a cache of more than 250,000 secret U.S. diplomatic cables last year and caused a media sensation.

Wearing a gray suit, Assange flipped through piles of documents and shook hands with supporters as he appeared in court to hear the verdict.

Read the judgment in full here (pdf)

In their ruling, the appeal judges said the decision by Swedish authorities to issue a European Arrest Warrant could not "be said to be disproportionate."

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"In any event, this is self evidently not a case relating to a trivial offense, but to serious sexual offenses," the judges said.

Sent to Sweden in days?
Before the judgment, extradition lawyer Julian Knowles had said Assange would only be able to appeal to Britain's Supreme Court ? the country's highest court ? if the appeals court's ruling involved an issue of "real legal significance."

Knowles said that if Assange is permitted a further appeal, he would likely stay on bail for a couple of months. If not, "he'll be extradited within 10 days," he predicted.

Assange had claimed in his appeal that the alleged offenses would not have been regarded as crimes under English and Welsh law, a stance the judges rejected.

"There can be no doubt that if what Mr. Assange had done had been done in England and Wales, he would have been charged," the ruling said.

A British judge approved the Swedish request for the computer expert's extradition in February, but Assange appealed against that decision too.

His lawyers have argued the Swedish demand is legally flawed and that the sex was consensual. Assange, who is free under strict bail conditions, has also accused the United States of putting pressure on Britain, Sweden and the media.

Last month, Assange, an Australian citizen, said WikiLeaks would stop publishing secret cables and devote itself instead to fund-raising because of a financial blockade on payments to the site by U.S. firms such as Visa and MasterCard.

He said if the blockade was not ended by the turn of the year, WikiLeaks would not be able to continue.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45129622/ns/world_news-europe/

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