STOCKHOLM, September 12 (RIA Novosti) - Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, accused of rape and sex assault in Sweden, on Friday appealed a Stockholm judge’s ruling to uphold an arrest warrant issued for him, Swiss news outlets reported Friday.
“We have filed a petition with the appeal court to hold a new hearing on the case,” lawyer Thomas Olsson said as quoted by Dagens Nyheter newspaper.
The defense has been arguing that the warrant, issued for Assange in November 2010 should be overturned since the prosecutor has been refusing to travel to London to interrogate the WikiLeaks founder so far. By not allowing the Australian to make a statement from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, the extended time frame of the trial has become a violation of his right to due process, the lawyers said.
On July 16, the Stockholm City District Court reviewed the detention order on request by Assange and upheld the arrest warrant. The judge “decided that there is still probable cause concerning the suspicions directed towards Julian Assange (unlawful coercion, sexual molestation and rape) … there is still a risk that he will fail to appear or in some other way avoid participation in the investigation,” according to the official press release.
Julian Assange launched the WikiLeaks website back in 2006, taking the role of its editor-in-chief. Wikileaks made its name by releasing scores of classified diplomatic and military documents from governments around the world, most notably the United States. The whistleblower was charged for sexual assault in Sweden in 2010. Assange denies the charges of rape as politically motivated.
The Wikileaks founder has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since seeking asylum there in June 2012. British police on guard outside the embassy ordered to arrest the Australian if he ever steps out.
Assange is trying to avoid his extradition to Sweden as he believes that it would lead to his further extradition to the United States, where he could be subject to rights violations.
