British Justice confirmed on Wednesday a decision on extradition to Sweden of the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange after 11 months of legal proceedings, but the decision may be appealed to the Supreme Court. The two judges of the High Court in London responsible for this issue have rejected defense arguments that the request for extradition of the 40-year-old Australian is “unfair and contrary to the law”.
Julian Assange was accused by two Swedish women that he had unprotected sex with them under coercion in 2010. The High Court rejected the argument that certain acts qualified as rape in Sweden could be considered consensual sexual in the UK. “I do not see how a person can be reasonably considered as expressing consent if she states that was asleep and, moreover, the consent (for sexual relations) was not expressed without a condom”, stated the Court.
Julian Assane was accused of unprotected sex by one of the complainants, who explicitly asked him to use a condom. The other woman accused him for taking advantage of the fact that she was asleep and he had intercourse with her. The Court also rejected the argument that extradition is not “commensurate” with “severity” of sexual assault. Thus, the High Court upheld on appeal an initial decision in February to a court to extradite Assange.
Wikileaks founder announced on his arrival, before the meeting on Wednesday morning, that he will give “a 30-second declaration at the exit” from the meeting without making any comments. Julian Assange can appeal against the decision at the Supreme Court, only under certain conditions. High Court or Supreme Court may allow the appeal only if it concerns a legal issue of general interest, or if it exceeds the specific legal of Assange’s case. His supporters held a rally Wednesday morning in front of the court. The Australian was arrested in December in the UK under a European arrest warrant. The founder of Wikileaks is confined at home in the UK, pending a decision, while he lives at a friend’s mansion, not far from London.
WikiLeaks website began publishing in November 2010, tens of thousands of American diplomatic cables, the site and its founder attracted harsh criticism from the administration in Washington. In an unauthorized biography published in September, Julian Assange denies once again allegations of rape raised in Sweden, denouncing political manipulation. “These two women had fully agreed to have sex with me”, he said.