Though Assange's reasoning was struck down by Senior District Judge and Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot on the grounds that she was "not persuaded that the warrant should be withdrawn," a judgment is expected to be passed on February 13 for other arguments posed by lawyers during the hearing.
Speaking to Sputnik Radio's Loud & Clear, Randy Credico, an activist, comedian and former director of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice, said that just because one argument was rejected doesn't mean that Assange's case was dead on arrival.
"What happened today in that courtroom was on one point… just the first point," Credico told show hosts Brian Becker and John Kiriakou. "This is not over yet… this is just the beginning."
Although it has been long established that Assange has opted to stay inside the Ecuadorian embassy out of fear of being extradited to the US for exposing classified documents, Credico says it's still unclear whether or not extradition papers have been presented to the UK by the Land of the Free.
"Well, we don't really know if there is one or isn't one — either way, it works in the US government's favor," the activist told Kiriakou regarding extradition papers. "Either they're going to extradite him if they have a warrant or they don't and they're bluffing, which keeps him kind of immobilized in that embassy and not able to get around and do what he does best, which is journalism."
Assange's defense team initially filed an application to the Westminster Magistrates' Court in late January to strike down the arrest warrant that was issued against the 46-year-old for breaching bail conditions linked to the no-longer-active Sweden investigation.