Swedish supreme court rejects Assange appeal
Sweden's supreme court will not take up the appeal of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, while Swedish police denied that an administrative error on their part had hampered the Australian's arrest.
As a consequence, Assange remains on an international wanted list.
39-year-old Assange submitted the appeal to the court on November 30th after a prior appeal was rejected. A court spokesperson confirmed at the time that the matter would be considered high priority and a quick decision could be expected.
The Stockholm district court ordered an arrest warrant on November 18th for Assange for questioning on "probable cause suspected of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion" in Sweden in August.
The court order allowed prosecutor Marianne Ny, who had requested Assange's detention, to procure an international arrest warrant for the 39-year-old Australian, who travels constantly and whose whereabouts are mainly kept secret, but is thought to be in the south-east of England.
Swedish police have meanwhile denied reports in the UK media on Thursday that any mistakes were made when filing an international arrest warrant for Assange, refuting the claim that a Swedish blunder could have delayed the WikiLeaks frontman's arrest.
"For us there is no problem, but we are investigating," Tommy Kangasvieri of the Swedish National Criminal Police told AFP.
"At the moment, we are talking with the UK to know if there is a problem and what it is," he added.
The Times newspaper reported Thursday that British police knew where the whistleblower website was -- believed to be a location in southeast England -- but could not act on the information as the European arrest warrant was incorrectly filled out.
Sweden issued an arrest warrant for the 39-year-old Australian on November 18, citing "probable cause of suspected rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion" related to contacts with two women in Sweden in August.
On Tuesday, Assange's lawyer appealed to Sweden's Supreme Court to overturn
the ruling that lead to the arrest warrant being launched.
Whistleblowing website WikiLeaks slowly started publishing some 250,000 US embassy cables on Sunday, which has infuriated Washington and embarrassed many governments worldwide.
Comments
See Also
As a consequence, Assange remains on an international wanted list.
39-year-old Assange submitted the appeal to the court on November 30th after a prior appeal was rejected. A court spokesperson confirmed at the time that the matter would be considered high priority and a quick decision could be expected.
The Stockholm district court ordered an arrest warrant on November 18th for Assange for questioning on "probable cause suspected of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion" in Sweden in August.
The court order allowed prosecutor Marianne Ny, who had requested Assange's detention, to procure an international arrest warrant for the 39-year-old Australian, who travels constantly and whose whereabouts are mainly kept secret, but is thought to be in the south-east of England.
Swedish police have meanwhile denied reports in the UK media on Thursday that any mistakes were made when filing an international arrest warrant for Assange, refuting the claim that a Swedish blunder could have delayed the WikiLeaks frontman's arrest.
"For us there is no problem, but we are investigating," Tommy Kangasvieri of the Swedish National Criminal Police told AFP.
"At the moment, we are talking with the UK to know if there is a problem and what it is," he added.
The Times newspaper reported Thursday that British police knew where the whistleblower website was -- believed to be a location in southeast England -- but could not act on the information as the European arrest warrant was incorrectly filled out.
Sweden issued an arrest warrant for the 39-year-old Australian on November 18, citing "probable cause of suspected rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion" related to contacts with two women in Sweden in August.
On Tuesday, Assange's lawyer appealed to Sweden's Supreme Court to overturn
the ruling that lead to the arrest warrant being launched.
Whistleblowing website WikiLeaks slowly started publishing some 250,000 US embassy cables on Sunday, which has infuriated Washington and embarrassed many governments worldwide.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.