Assange loses extradition hearing
Australian Herald Thursday 24th February, 2011
A British judge has ordered WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange be extradited to Sweden so he can be questioned about allegations made against him of sexual misconduct.
The deportation order will likely be appealed by the Assange defence team. If the appeal fails Assange could be sent to Sweden within the next two weeks.
"It comes as no surprise but is nevertheless wrong. It comes as the result of a European arrest warrant system gone amok," Assange told reporters as he left Belmarsh magistrates court in south-east London.
He complained the decision did not take into account the merit of the allegations made against him, propelling him into a legal system he did not understand in a country with a language he did not speak.
The WikiLeaks leader expressed his concern about attempts he believes will be made for him to be extradited to the United States from Sweden. "What does the U.S. have to do with a Swedish extradition process?" he asked. "Why is it that I am subject, a non-profit free speech activist, to a $360,000 bail? Why is it that I am kept under electronic house arrest when I have not even been charged in any country, when I have never been a fugitive?" Assange said.
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