The Swedish Supreme Court is reportedly requesting the opinion of the Attorney General in regards to the arrest of Julian Assange.
Swedish law enforcement issued an arrest warrant for Assange in 2010 without filing criminal charges. This occurred soon after the release of 250,000 US diplomatic cables which were released through the Wikileak’s website.
The arrest warrant prevents Assange from leaving the embassy. British police have encircled the compound and would inevitably extradite Assange to Sweden if he were to step foot on UK soil. Assange refuses to hand himself over to Swedish authorities, fearing extradition to the United States.
As Justice for Assange points out, it is extremely unlikely for the Swedish government to issue an Interpol Red Notice and a European Arrest Warrant against a person whose whereabouts are known. This leads many to suspect that Swedish interest in Assange is primarily driven by US pressure.
The FBI is currently leading a criminal investigation against the Wikileaks founder for his role in publishing the documents obtained by former intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. Manning was sentenced to 35 years imprisonment on charges of espionage.
Assange was given asylum by Ecuador since his home country of Australia may be coerced into extradition.
He also filed a petition with the United Nations in protest of his Arbitrary Detention.
Assange has repeatedly expressed that he doesn’t have much hope for a positive outcome in his case.
“I’m condemned to death,” Assange told Radio Television Suisse earlier this month.
Nevertheless, the Swedish Supreme Court will now have to decide whether the country will continue effectively imprisoning Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy in London without even filing criminal charges against him. Otherwise, his case will be dismissed after years of fruitless attempts to extradite the Wikileaks founder.
