 |
|
WikiLeaks founder
Julian Assange (centre) arrives at London's
High Court on November 2, 2011. December. Mr Assange lost his appeal to block
his extradition to Sweden to
face questioning over rape and sexual assault allegations, the High Court in London said. AFP
|
WikiLeaks
founder Julian Assange on Wednesday lost a bitter legal battle to block his
extradition from Britain to Sweden to face
questioning over allegations of rape and sexual assault.
Two judges at the High Court in London rejected arguments by the 40-year-old
Australian, whose anti-secrecy website has enraged governments around the
world, that his extradition would be unlawful.
“The court dismissed the appeal,” said a summary of
the judgement, before detailing the four counts on which Assange had appealed
against a decision by a lower court in February that he should be sent to Sweden.
Assange said he would consult his lawyers about
whether to make a further appeal to England’s Supreme Court, but doing
so would be difficult as judges must first decide that the case is of special
public interest.
“We will be considering our next steps in the days
ahead,” the former computer hacker told a scrum of reporters and cameramen
gathered from around the world, in a brief statement from the steps of the
court.
Assange has strongly denied the allegations, claiming
they are politically motivated and linked to the activities of WikiLeaks. He
has been under virtual house arrest since he was first detained in December.
He wore a blue suit with a poppy in his lapel — a
symbol in Britain to mark Armistice Day on November 11, the anniversary of the
end of World War I — and sat quietly next to his lawyers as the judgement was
announced.
During the appeal hearing in July, Assange had argued
that the European Arrest Warrant under which he was held last December was
invalid because it was issued by a prosecutor and not a court.
But the British
judges said it had been subjected to proper judicial scrutiny in Sweden.
They also rejected his assertion that the claims made
by two women of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation and an
accusation of rape would not be offences under English law.
One woman alleged that Assange had unprotected sex
with her while she was asleep, and the judges rejected his lawyers’ contention
that consent to sex with a condom remained consent when a condom was not used.
“There is nothing in the statement from which it could
be inferred that he reasonably expected that she would have consented to sex
without a condom,” the court ruling said.
The judges also rejected Assange’s argument that he
should not be extradited because he was only wanted for questioning and had not
been charged, saying he was “plainly accused” of the crimes.
The fourth and final ground of appeal was that the
arrest warrant was disproportionate, given that Assange had offered to be
questioned via videolink, but the court also dismissed this.
he enigmatic WikiLeaks boss has been living under
strict bail conditions, including having to wear an electronic ankle tag and
observe a strict curfew, at the east England mansion of supporter and former
army captain Vaughan Smith.
Smith was in court on Wednesday along with supporters
including campaigning journalist John Pilger.
Assange now has 14 days to decide whether he will try
to take the case to the Supreme Court of England and Wales, the highest legal authority
in the land.
But leave to appeal can only be granted by either the
High Court or the Supreme Court, and then only if it there is a point of law of
general public importance.
In an autobiography published in September, Assange
repeated his denial of the rape allegations.
“I did not rape those women and cannot imagine
anything that happened between us that would make them think so, except malice
after the fact, a joint plan to entrap me, or a terrifying misunderstanding
that was stoked up between them,” he wrote.
“I may be a chauvinistic pig of some sort but I am no
rapist, and only a distorted version of sexual politics could attempt to turn
me into one.”
Daily Nation
No comments:
Post a Comment