Assange wins latest round in extradition fight
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 4:34 PM EST, Mon December 5, 2011
Assange wins latest extradition battle
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Assange's application to have his case heard by the Supreme Court is approved
- He says he is grateful for the decision
- Assange is fighting extradition to Sweden over sex assault claims
- The WikiLeaks founder denies wrongdoing and says the case is politically motivated
London (CNN) -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be allowed to appeal against extradition to Sweden on sex allegations, the British High Court announced Monday.
Assange said he was "thankful" for the decision.
Is Assange staging a comeback?
"The High Court has decided that an issue that arises from my own case is of general public importance and may be of assistance" in other cases, he said in brief remarks after the ruling.
The case now moves to the Supreme Court, and Assange's lawyers have vowed to take the fight all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.
Assange, who has been under house arrest for almost a year, on November 2 lost a court battle to stay in Britain. Appeals court judges Lord Justice John Thomas and Justice Duncan Ouseley rejected all four of the arguments Assange's defense team used to fight the extradition at that time.
101: WikiLeaks revealed
Occupy Wall Street in London
WikiLeaks founder speaks at Occupy London
Two women in Sweden accused Assange in August 2010 of sexually assaulting them.
Although he has not been charged with a crime, Swedish prosecutors want to question him in connection with the allegations.
Swedish authorities allege that one unnamed woman agreed to have sex with him only if he wore a condom, and that he then had unprotected sex with her while she was asleep.
Assange denies wrongdoing and says the case is politically motivated.
"I have not been charged with any crime in any country," Assange said outside the High Court in London after losing an earlier round of the extradition battle there. "Despite this, the European arrest warrant is so restrictive that it prevents UK courts from considering the facts of a case, as judges have made clear here today."
The extradition case is not linked to Assange's work as founder and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, which has put him on the wrong side of U.S. authorities.
His organization, which facilitates the anonymous leaking of secret information, has published some 250,000 confidential U.S. diplomatic cables in the past year, causing embarrassment to the government and others.
It has also published hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. documents relating to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But the organization has come under increasing financial pressure in recent months, leading Assange to announce in October that WikiLeaks was temporarily stopping publication to "aggressively fundraise" in order to stay afloat.
Part of complete coverage on
updated 7:50 PM EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
It's an outside-the-box solution, says Clyde Prestowitz, but the German government can save Greece by reissuing its beloved deutsche mark.
updated 5:33 AM EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
Images of slaughter in the Syrian town of Houla provoked outrage around the world, but sometimes outrage isn't enough to spur action, says Tim Lister.
updated 3:56 PM EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
Alleged poison attacks against students in Afghanistan show the fragility of the country's transition, says Gayle Lemmon.
updated 5:27 AM EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
Airport dining doesn't have to be terminal, as a new wave of eateries elevates cuisine above the level of greasy burgers and wilting sushi.
updated 7:10 PM EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
Andrew Keen says our self esteem is determined by our use of social media -- so let's embrace tech which lets data degenerate over time.
updated 7:27 AM EDT, Thu May 31, 2012
Republican Graham Smith argues why the UK monarchy should be consigned to the history books.
CNN's Richard Quest rails against the censorious ratings warnings placed on inflight movies.
updated 12:06 PM EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
Queen Elizabeth was criticized for being aloof after Princess Diana's death in 1997. But one royal insider says that wasn't the case.
updated 5:45 AM EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
Businessman Christian Stadil believes firms must care about more than money and that corporate social responsibility helps attract talented workers.
updated 11:08 AM EDT, Thu May 31, 2012
It's hard being a female busineswoman in a country where women need permission to work or travel. But some try.
updated 3:31 AM EDT, Mon May 28, 2012
How law enforcement agencies are readying themselves for this month's Euro 2012 soccer tournament.
updated 8:53 AM EDT, Thu May 31, 2012
Adoptions from Africa have surged three-fold in eight years -- but campaigners fear that children from the continent are becoming commodities.
updated 7:17 AM EDT, Thu May 31, 2012
He's been running all his life, running for freedom, running for peace. Now Reza Baluchi is heading for Mt. Everest by running across the Middle East.
updated 7:13 AM EDT, Tue May 29, 2012
An old meatpacking plant in Chicago is being transformed into an eco farm, which its founders say will produce food sustainably with zero waste.
Most popular stories right now
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|